Permanent Loss of Sound: Neural Hearing Loss

While most reduction of hearing can be caused by something as simple as a large ball of ear wax that can be removed with a Q-tip, a lot of times this is not the case. At least 20 million people throughout the United States suffer from hearing loss, and a large portion of it is neural hearing loss, which cannot be repaired. To know more about the causes of neural hearing loss, it is best to know what types of hearing loss there is, how they are caused, and what can be done about it. There are two main types of hearing loss that one should be aware of: conductive, and sensor neural (or neural) hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss occurs when the bones inside of the ear, called the oscilla, are damaged, or the canal leading to the eardrum is blocked for some reason. This type of hearing impairment is brought on either by a foreign object lodged in the ear, or a simple build up of wax. In severe cases, a benign tumor is causing the blockage, and thus needs to be removed from the ear. Once the blockage is removed, or the oscilla are restored, then hearing is usually brought back to normal.

Other Types of Hearing Loss

The other type of hearing loss is neural hearing loss. In this case, the auditory nerve that extends from the ear to the auditory part of the brain is either missing, or damaged. There is no way to repair or replace the auditory nerve, and hearing aids to no good to help. This type of damage to hearing is usually a result of a birth defect, prolonged drug abuse, a viral infection or simply listening to loud music or noise over an extended amount of time.

Neural hearing loss can be severe or slight, depending upon the extent of damage to the nerve or if there is a nerve at all. If there is not a nerve in place, this will usually bring on deafness. Whether you are born with neural hearing loss, or develop it over time, the best way to treat it is to visit your physician, and they will recommend what kinds of treatment will work best for your neural hearing loss; whether sign language, or other types of communication that will best help you to hear the world with or without hearing.