A person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing – hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears – is said to have hearing loss. Hearing loss may be mild, moderate, severe, or profound.
A person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing – hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears – is said to have hearing loss. Hearing loss may be mild, moderate, severe, or profound.
See less
There are four types of hearing loss: 1. Conductive Hearing Loss: This type of hearing loss occurs when something stops sounds from getting through the outer or middle ear. It can often be treated with medicine or surgery. 2. Sensorineural Hearing Loss: This type of hearing loss occurs when there isRead more
There are four types of hearing loss:
1. Conductive Hearing Loss: This type of hearing loss occurs when something stops sounds from getting through the outer or middle ear. It can often be treated with medicine or surgery.
2. Sensorineural Hearing Loss: This type of hearing loss occurs when there is a problem in the way the inner ear or hearing nerve works.
3. Mixed Hearing Loss: This type of hearing loss includes both a conductive and a sensorineural hearing loss.
4. Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder: This type of hearing loss occurs when sound enters the ear normally, but because of damage to the inner ear or the hearing nerve, sound isn’t organized in a way that the brain can understand.
The degree of hearing loss can range from mild to profound:
– Mild Hearing Loss: A person with a mild hearing loss may hear some speech sounds but soft sounds are hard to hear.
– Moderate Hearing Loss: A person with a moderate hearing loss may hear almost no speech when another person is talking at a normal level.
– Severe Hearing Loss: A person with severe hearing loss will hear no speech when a person is talking at a normal level and only some loud sounds.
– Profound Hearing Loss: A person with a profound hearing loss will not hear any speech and only very loud sounds.
Hearing loss can also be described as:
– Unilateral or Bilateral: Hearing loss is in one ear (unilateral) or both ears (bilateral).
– Pre-lingual or Post-lingual: Hearing loss happened before a person learned to talk (pre-lingual) or after a person learned to talk (post-lingual).
– Symmetrical or Asymmetrical: Hearing loss is the same in both ears (symmetrical) or is different in each ear (asymmetrical).
– Progressive or Sudden: Hearing loss worsens over time (progressive) or happens quickly (sudden).
– Fluctuating or Stable: Hearing loss gets either better or worse over time (fluctuating) or stays the same over time (stable).
– Congenital or Acquired/Delayed Onset: Hearing loss is present at birth (congenital) or appears sometime later in life (acquired or delayed onset).
See less