What Are The Most Common Causes Of Hearing Loss?

As you approach your golden years, after a life of hard work and dedication to raising your family, you begin to realize you can’t hear them as well as you used to. You want to be able to hear what your grandkids are asking you, but unless you’re looking directly at them when they’re speaking, it’s all a bit muffled around you. But why is this happening? What are the common causes of hearing loss?

If you’ve experienced severe exposure to loud noises—either as a veteran of war or a veteran of the music industry–you might get some relief by first trying an online hearing test and then looking into hearing loss treatment options. But it’s important to understand what type of hearing loss you’re experiencing and track down potential causes and treatment options to best serve your specific condition.

What Are The Most Common Types of Hearing Loss?

There are three basic types of hearing loss: sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss. Below we break down the differences between the three.

Sensorineural hearing loss: The most common type of hearing loss, this condition occurs when the inner ear or the hearing nerve itself is damaged. This loss generally occurs when hair cells within the cochlea are damaged. The most common causes include aging and exposure to loud noises. This hearing loss is permanent but can be treated. To mitigate the risk of such damage, it’s crucial to understand how to protect your hearing from the detrimental effects of high decibel levels and other harmful auditory environments.
Conductive hearing loss: This occurs when hearing loss is present in the outer or middle ear where sound waves are unable to carry completely through the inner ear. Causes include earwax or a foreign object located in the ear canal, the middle ear space impacted with fluid, infection or a bone abnormality, or the eardrum that may have been injured.
Mixed hearing loss: This occurs when a combination of both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss is present. The two can often go hand-in-hand.

It’s important to participate in hearing tests to determine the exact type of hearing loss you’re dealing with, and if there are treatment options available to stall or prevent further damage.

What Are The Most Common Causes of Hearing Loss?

Common causes of hearing loss, as laid out by the Mayo Clinic, include:

Damage to the inner ear: As stated above, if the inner ear is damaged by exposure to loud noise, or as a gradual loss of hearing due to aging, wear and tear can limit or prevent sound signals from making their way to the brain. If inner ear hairs or nerve cells are damaged, signals aren’t transmitted as clearly.
Too much earwax: Over time, ear wax can gradually build up and cause hearing loss. This can block the ear canal and prevent the conduction of sound waves. Seeking ear wax removal services conducted by a professional can literally clear out your ear canal and allow more sounds to get through, like taking off some soundproof headphones.
Ear infection or abnormal bone growths or tumors: All of these can obstruct hearing or cause pain or hearing loss which can be permanent if not addressed.
Ruptured eardrum: This can be caused by immediate, extremely loud noise, a sudden change in pressure, or being penetrated by an object. This is extremely painful and could result in permanent hearing loss.
Heredity: Hearing loss can be passed down from generation to generation. If you have a predisposition to hearing loss, your chances of losing your hearing are increased.

Risk factors include: loud noise, genetics, occupational noises in your work environment, recreational noises like loud music from concerts or loud sporting events, certain medications, and illnesses.

What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is defined as a “ringing or buzzing noise in one or both ears that may be constant or come and go, often associated with hearing loss” (Mayo Clinic). This noise isn’t caused by external sounds. Tinnitus affects 15 to 20 percent of people, generally present in older adults.

It’s usually caused by an underlying condition, like age-related hearing loss, circulatory issues or exposure to an ear injury. Tinnitus symptoms include buzzing, roaring, clicking, humming, ringing, or hissing sounds. There are three basic types of tinnitus:

Subjective tinnitus: This means others can’t hear the sounds experienced by the person with tinnitus.
Objective tinnitus: Others can hear the noises produced by a person’s tinnitus, generally because of noise generated by structures near the ear. For example, disorders that affect blood vessels, muscles, and certain nerves.

What Treatment Options Are Available For Hearing Loss?

Just because you’re noticing hearing loss, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it. Treatment options are available to buffer, prevent, or fix hearing loss in certain patients. As technology continues to improve, more options are becoming more available. Some common treatment options are listed below:

Earwax Removal: This is a pretty quick fix for less severe hearing loss conditions. If you have so much earwax that it’s causing hearing loss, it’s time for a cleaning. Generally, the wax is removed through suction tools or other small instruments or tools.
Surgery: If you have eardrum abnormalities or ossicles (bones for hearing), surgery may be required to improve your hearing loss. Or if you have consistent ear infections, a doctor may drain your ears using non-invasive surgery.
Hearing aids: One of the most common treatment options for hearing loss, hearing aids have evolved drastically over the years to add years of hearing for those losing theirs. These are generally useful for damage to the inner ear. Generally, hearing aids can be removed and replaced by the user and don’t require implants.
Cochlear implants: If your hearing loss is severe and regular hearing aids don’t help you, you may need implants. A cochlear implant “bypasses damaged or non-working parts of your inner ear and directly stimulates the hearing nerve”, as opposed to simply amplifying sounds like other hearing aids.
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT): This individualized program, conducted by an audiologist, generally happens at a specific tinnitus treatment center. During the process, “you wear a device in your ear that helps mask your tinnitus symptoms while you also receive directive counseling. Over time, TRT may help you notice tinnitus less and feel less distressed by your symptoms” (Mayo Clinic).

Is There Anything I Can Do At Home To Help With Hearing Loss?

There are a few additional options you can explore at home that may help or reduce your hearing loss, though no proof indicates they will always or ever help your specific condition:

Eat healthier: Eating a nutritional diet has been linked to reducing the risk of hearing loss. Ginger, turmeric, and spearmint are three ingredients that have been used to stall or attempt to prevent hearing loss in the past.
Consider natural supplements and vitamins: There are all-natural supplements and vitamins on the market that claim to help with hearing loss or conditions like tinnitus. Though there isn’t much substantial evidence these will improve your condition, the risk factor is low, and what more do you have to lose but more hearing?

Try soundproof panels in your home: Using some sound-dampening or soundproofing felt panels can help eliminate distracting noise that can make it difficult to hear something specific. This can allow you to focus on your guests and best make out what they are saying without distracting outside noise like a lawn mower, crickets chirping at night, or weather sounds like thunder and pattering rain.

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