Hearing Loss is any alteration
of hearing capacity. Hearing loss can be of various degrees, i.e., mild,
moderate, severe, profound, or total. Hearing loss can be classified as
either conductive, sensorineural, central and mixed hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss
can be characterized by the loss of sound conduction to the
inner ear (cochlea). It can be either temporary or permanent, and is many
times treatable with medication and/or surgery.
Sensorineural hearing loss is usually permanent loss of hearing sensitivity,
usually more in the high frequencies (pitches) than the lower frequencies.
Sensorineural hearing loss usually affects the ability to understand conversations,
especially in difficult listening situations. Sensorineural hearing loss
usually affects men more than women, due to job placement and social activities
rather than genetic makeup. Sensorineural hearing loss is best treated with
the use of hearing aid(s) if the person has sufficient degree of hearing
loss and is motivated and willing to help himself.
Central hearing loss
is often seen in elderly persons and characterized by reduced central
auditory processing abilities, i.e., increased difficulty understanding/comprehending,
especially when the signal the person is trying to hear is degraded or in
the presence of background noise.
Mixed hearing loss
is any combination of the above types of hearing loss. Over 21 million
Americans suffer from some degree of hearing loss, although only a small
portion are actually helped with some kind of assistive hearing device and/or
hearing aid(s), even though they could be. The majority of people with hearing
loss are diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss often caused by life's
noisy activities and presbycusis, i.e., hearing loss due to aging. These
types of hearing loss cannot be corrected with any type of medicine or surgery.
Therefore, using an audiologist as the primary source for hearing healthcare
is not only in a patient's best interest, but also cost effective. More
and more primary care physicians and health insurance companies agree that
the primary choice for hearing healthcare is the audiologist.