Conductive Hearing Loss: Signs, Causes, and Treatments

When sound waves penetrate your ear canal, they trigger your eardrum to vibrate, which then causes the tiny bones to vibrate or cause the ossicles. The vibrations are then sent to the cochlea, which then moves to the auditory nerve, which triggers the brain to communicate.

In a healthy auditory system, the flow of sound moves without any interruption. But for a person who has a conductive hearing problem, the sound waves are obstructed, causing diminished hearing capabilities and destroy your hearing health.

What is Conductive Hearing Loss (CHL)?

Conductive hearing disorder is a form of hearing impairment, caused by a complication in the middle or outer ear. Blockage or damage in the middle or outer ear results in a reduction in loudness, which is either reversible or temporary. It can occur in one ear or both of your ears and can be mild or chronic.

Symptoms of Conductive Hearing Loss

• Weird smell from the ear
• Burning sensation in the affected ear(s)
• Ability to hear with only one ear

Remember, symptoms vary based on the primary cause, or multiple signs may occur all at the same time. Individuals with CHL usually find themselves increase the volume of radio, music, or TV. While it is not an alarming symptom, it could heal from a quick-fix. Also, you can have both sensorineural and conductive symptoms, which is known as mixed hearing impaired.

Causes of Conductive Hearing Loss

The following factors may cause conductive hearing loss:

• Earwax- typically, the body releases earwax. Sometimes a lot of wax can accumulate, which in turn, blocks the ear canal, resulting in hearing loss
• Swimmer’s ear- also known as otitis externa, it is associated with cotton swab use or water exposure
• Foreign elements- this is most likely to happen in young children who may insert things such as beats and beads in the ear, but it can also occur to adults.
• Body lesions- these are small growths that thrive from the bone in the ear canal and is associated with swimming in cold water
• Eardrum collapse- pressure in the middle ear can be unevenly distributed, which may cause the eustachian tube to malfunction, forcing the eardrum to collapse on the mid-ear bones
• Hole in the eardrum- this condition is also known tympanic membrane and can arise as a result of infection, trauma, or complete damage to the eustachian tube
• Cholesteatoma- skills cells that are not supposed to be in the mid-ear canal can grow there. They are characterized by small pockets or lumps which can thrive to damage the bones
• Damage to the ear bones- this may be caused by infection, trauma, retracted eardrum or cholesteatoma

Treating Conductive Hearing Loss

Treating hearing loss is possible. The treatment to be used will depend on the type of characteristics of the infection and the seriousness of the hearing complication, plus your preference and medical needs.

At Hearing Wellness Solutions, we will conduct a thorough examination to assess your hearing health, history and the extent of your condition to determine the root cause of the problem and the best treatment option for you.

Medical Solutions for Untreated Hearing Loss

Depending on the cause of your problem, procedures for treating hearing loss may be simple to complex. Complications caused by earwax can easily be rectified without the use of complex materials. Ventilation problems in the eustachian tube can also be fixed quickly with the use of drugs such as decongestant nasal spray.

In case you have otitis media, your doctor will conduct a paracentesis procedure, where the doctor will make a small incision into the eardrum to repair the ear problem. The tiny incision will heal in no time.

If otitis media persists, especially in children, a physician may insert a grommet to ensure the hole in the eardrum remains open and stop inflammation. If hearing impairment is caused by severe medical conditions like otosclerosis or swelling, which may destroy the ossicles, you may require dangerous medical procedures.

Thanks to technological advancements, there are safe surgical operations that are aimed to replace ossicles and other crucial parts associated with it, such as tympanoplasty. You may also be given hearing aids to correct the problem permanently.

Orange County Physicians’ Hearing Services

If you’ve noticed changes in your hearing and are concerned about conductive hearing loss, contact us today. We provide comprehensive hearing health services and we’re here to help!