What causes hearing loss?
Conductive hearing problems from the outer ear may be due to:
- Injury or malformation of theouter ear
- Blockages from cerumen (ear wax) or foreign objects
- Swelling or infection (external otitis)
Conductive hearing problems from the middle ear may be due to:
- Infection (otitis media or mastoiditis)
- A hole in the eardrum (tympanic membrane perforation)
- Stiffening in the joints of the middle ear bones (otosclerosis)
- Malformation or a break in the middle ear bones
- Scar tissue or tumors behind the tympanic membrane (eardrum)
- Damaged or malformed blood vessels behind the tympanic membrane (eardrum)
Sensory hearing problems of the cochlea (inner ear) may be due to:
- Loud Noise
- Stiffening or other gradual changes inside the cochlea (cochlear otosclerosis)
- A hole in the cochlea (cochlear fistula)
- Meniere's disease
- Toxic medications or other chemicals that damage the cochlea (ototoxicity)
- Viral or bacterial infections, especially those that cause prolonged fever or high fever
- Genetic traits and syndromes
- Hyperbilirubinemia (Rh factor incompatibility between a mother and baby)
- Kidney disease
- Diabetes
- Prematurity
- Autoimmune system disorders
Neural hearing problems may be due to:
- Tumors along the auditory nerve
- Hyperbilirubinemia (Rh factor incompatibility between a mother and baby)
- Meningitis or encephalitis (an infection of the brain)
- Auditory neuropathy, which interferes with nerve impulses needed for hearing
- Skull fractures affecting the temporal bone
- Strokes or head injuries affecting the temporal lobe of the brain
