Hearing Loss

The cause of a particular hearing loss is important to understand since it factors heavily into determining the right treatment. There are many causes of hearing loss and some causes are responsible for only certain types of hearing loss. For example, earwax blocking the ear canal causes a temporary conductive hearing loss while prolonged exposure to excessively loud noise causes permanent sensorineural hearing loss.

Hearing loss can be caused by any of the following:

• Advancing age (age-related hearing loss is called presbycusis)
• Certain medications, sometimes called “ototoxic” drugs
• Trauma or injury to the head
• Genetic factors
• Prolonged exposure to excessively loud noise
• A single episode of acoustic trauma
• Certain illnesses such as mumps, Meniere’s disease, otosclerosis or autoimmune disease
• A tumour on the acoustic nerve or acoustic neuroma