Moomaw Hearing Center, Inc.

What Are The Differences Between These Types Of Hearing Loss?Conductive: Conductive Hearing Loss affects the passage of sound between the eardrum and the inner ear. Sound passes down the ear canal to the ear drum and through the middle ear, where the sound is transmitted across the middle ear by the three bones, called the ossicles, to the inner ear. Conductive Hearing Loss is due to problems within the ear canal, eardrum, and/or middle ear.Sensorineural: Sensorineural Hearing Loss, also known as nerve-related hearing loss, is damage to the hair cells in the cochlea or damage to the neural pathways of hearing. With this type of hearing loss it is not always possible to tell which part is damaged and is therefore often listed together as Sensorineural Hearing Loss.Mixed Hearing Loss: Mixed Hearing Loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. This means there may be damage in the outer or middle ear along with damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve. Unilateral Hearing Loss: Also known as Single Sided Deafness (SSD), it is typically caused by viral infections, Menieres Disease, head or ear injuries, or through surgical intervention to remove brain tumors. In addition to impaired hearing on one side, some people may have trouble determining the direction in which sound is traveling. Sudden Hearing Loss: Sudden Hearing Loss is defined as greater than 30 dB (decibels) hearing reduction over at least three contiguous frequencies occurring over a period of 72 hours or less. The cause of Sudden Hearing Loss still remains unknown in most patients but there are common causes.