Common Reasons That can Trigger Deafness!

The last Sunday of September is marked as World Deaf Day. This is the day, the world comes together to spread awareness regarding deafness, its causes and treatment. There could be many factors leading to the loss of hearing.

Here is a look at some of the most common ones-

The Different Kinds of Hearing Loss

To understand better the causes of hearing loss, it is important to know the various kinds of deafness. Generally, it can be divided into three broad categories-

• Conductive deafness/hearing loss

• Sensorineural deafness/hearing loss

• Mixed deafness/hearing loss

The three types of deafness are caused by different sets of reasons. 

Causes of Conductive Deafness

You will be diagnosed with conductive deafness when sound cannot make it past your outer and middle ear into your inner ear. Softer noises will be completely inaudible. You may be able to hear louder noises but they will be muffled. This form of deafness is triggered by-

• Fluid build-up in your inner ear 

• An infection of the ear

• Punctured eardrum

• An object that got lodged in your ear

• The Eustachian tube links your middle ear to your nose and helps drain out middle ear fluids through the nose. If this tunnel doesn’t function properly, you end up with impaired hearing

Causes of Sensorineural Deafness

An injury to the inner ear or damage to the nerves prompts sensorineural deafness. It is usually a form of permanent deafness. It can be caused by-

• A severe illness

• Drug abuse

• Hereditary hearing loss

• Ageing

• A structural problem of the inner ear

• An injury to the head or the ear

• A sudden loud blast of sound

Causes of Mixed Deafness/Hearing Loss

Sometimes conductive deafness and sensorineural deafness happen in conjunction and the result is mixed deafness. This means the outer ear and middle ear are unable to conduct sound to the inner ear and there is damage to the inner ear as well. It could be caused by-

• Head trauma

• Excessive use of drugs

• Accumulation of ear wax

• Ear infection

• A hole in the eardrum

A doctor can identify the type of hearing loss based on the causes and a few diagnostic tests and you will be suggested a course of treatment accordingly.