Hearing loss is caused due to many factors but the most common is the presence of ear wax which causes blockage of the ear. Hearing loss due to ear wax can be easily corrected by removal of the wax. Other causes of hearing loss are ear infections or birth defects. Sudden loud noises are also a prominent cause of hearing loss. Read on to know more about the causes of hearing loss.The primary cause of
hearing loss is the blockage of the ear. The most common amongst all is the blockage caused by ear wax or cerumen. There are specially designed tools in the doctor’s clinic that are used to remove this ea wax easily. At times the wax is flushed out with water too. People need to be careful while opting for the readily available wax control preparations that are available at the chemist shops as there lays a danger of contacting ear infections.
There Can be Several Other Causes That can Lead to Hearing Loss:
- The ear canal gets shut due to swelling. This can be attributed to several other factors like infections and even acute cold.
- Presence of foreign elements inside the ear.
- Any sudden injury or trauma.
- Structural defects those are present right from birth.
- There is a sudden growth inside the ear canal.
One needs to note that all these are causes that can lead to hearing loss in the sense that the volume gets fainter and fainter with the passage of time, if the condition goes untreated. But these factors do not distort the structural condition of the ear.
Causes of Hearing Loss in the Middle Ear:
Ear Infection
This is a temporary hearing loss where the inner lining of the middle ear gets swelled. It happens due to the accumulation of the fluid, commonly known as pus. The fluid gets stored behind the ear drum and envelops the three tiny bones or the ossicles. This makes it difficult for these structures to work properly and hearing loss ensues.
Antibiotics and decongestants are prescribed to treat this condition and the fluid is made to drain out by surgically piercing a small hole on the ear drum. This process is termed as Myringotomy.
Glue Ear
This infection is observed mostly in children and sometimes in adults. The medical term for glue ear is chronic Otitis media with effusion. This condition is treated by placing ear tubes or through Myringotomy. The condition is caused by the malfunctioning of the Eustachian tube that links the ear and the throat. The tube helps in maintaining the pressure balance of the middle ear with the ear canal and the environment.
Due to a swelling or allergy, the Eustachian tube does not open and the air present in the middle ear gets trapped. Gradually the air absorbs into the blood stream and the pressure balance gets distorted as a vacuum is created inside the middle ear causing retracted ear drum. With the rise of the negative pressure fluid begins to seep out of the blood vessels and give rise to the condition called glue ear.
Otosclerosis
This is a hereditary disease where a new bone grows beside any one of the three tiny bones in the middle ear. This hinders the bone transmission of sound traveling from the ear drum to the inner ear thereby resulting in hearing loss.
Birth defects
They can be of various types and most of them are external factors. Sometimes the defects are found to be in the inner ear structures which are basically corrected through surgeries.
Other Factors:
- Otosclerosis
- Presbycusis
- Fistula
- Head injury
- Meniere's syndrome
Hearing loss can also be caused by sudden noises, other infections, associated neural problems, allergies, high blood pressure, aids and even diabetes and cancer.
