Conductive Hearing Loss: Signs, Causes, and Treatments

Have you found yourself struggling to hear recently? Perhaps you are starting to notice you need to ask people to repeat themselves or people complain that you listen to the television too loudly. These are telltale signs of the onset of hearing loss. There are many kinds and causes of hearing loss and it is important to visit a doctor as soon as you suspect an issue. There are two main types of hearing loss. The most common kind is sensorineural hearing loss, often caused by excessive noise or advanced age. The other type of hearing loss is known as conductive hearing loss and often must be treated differently than the more common sensorineural condition.

Understanding Conductive Hearing Loss

Sensorineural hearing loss occurs in the inner ear as tiny hairs called cilia and nerves which transmit sound to the brain for processing, become damaged. When this happens, hearing becomes permanently damaged. In the case of conductive hearing loss, hearing loss is caused by a blockage in either the ear canal or the middle ear.  When your ear is blocked, sound cannot reach the inner ear to transmit sound to the brain. This blockage can be created in many ways including ear infections, a buildup of earwax, a lodged foreign object in the ear canal or damage to the bones and structures of the middle ear.

Like any hearing loss, conductive hearing loss can make it extremely difficult to hear when speaking to friends, family, doctors and co-workers. Not only that but any form of hearing loss makes navigating the world a much more difficult task, putting you at risk for heightened stress, more falls and a higher risk of accidents.

Causes of Conductive Hearing Loss

Any blockage can cause conductive hearing loss. Often simply removing the cause can clear up these blockages. In the case of ear infections, impaction of earwax or a foreign object blocking the ear canal, it is often simple to reverse the cause of conductive hearing loss. However conductive hearing loss can also be present at birth as structural abnormalities of the ear are common. Other causes of conductive hearing loss that are a more complicated fix include cholesteatoma, a growth of skin in the middle ear that affects ear function, and otosclerosis, which attacks the bones in the middle ear. Often a blow to the head can also injure the fragile parts of the inner ear, including the eardrum and tiny bones of the inner ear.

Signs of Conductive Hearing Loss

How do you know when you may have conductive hearing loss vs. sensorineural hearing loss? The most common signs of conductive hearing loss include a sudden loss of hearing as opposed to the gradual loss of hearing suffered by those with the sensorineural condition. In sensorineural hearing loss cases, a loss in high pitches is experienced first but in cases of conductive hearing loss there can be loss of pitch across frequencies. Often all the sounds around you will sound muffled and your ear canal may suffer from a sensation of fullness accompanied with a tenderness or pain in the ear. Often people suffering from conductive hearing loss experience a discharge coming from the ear and will feel out of balance when walking or standing as this condition can compromise the equilibrium, which is partially controlled by the inner ear.

Treatment for Conductive Hearing Loss

The treatment for conductive hearing loss varies depending on the cause of your hearing loss. In the case of ear infections, doctors will often prescribe antibiotics to clear up the infection. This will usually clear up hearing loss in a few days, even though it is important to take the full dose of antibiotics to make sure the infection clears up for good. When there is an impaction of earwax present in the ear often a doctor will flush out the ear canal using saline to soften the earwax and remove the blockage. Whatever the cause of your conductive hearing loss, it is important that an ENT or doctor can properly diagnose the particular cause of your loss. In many situations the blockage must be dealt with using surgery. In some cases conductive hearing loss cannot be reversed. In these instances you hearing loss is best treated with hearing aids, which can amplify sounds and deliver them to your ears. Find the right treatment option for you, and enjoy all the benefits of clear hearing and communication.