GENERAL HEARING LOSS SYMPTOMS

It depends on the type of hearing loss you have and the severity. A person who may have profound hearing loss in one ear, for example, experiences sound differently than a person with mild hearing loss in both ears. Symptoms are by hearing loss types. This is a general list of hearing loss symptoms.

Beginning stages:

Hearing loss can be vague and develop slowly.

It is usually self-diagnosable

Signs:

• Muffling of speech and other sounds

• Difficulty understanding words, against background noise, in group settings

• Trouble hearing consonants

• Asking others to speak up, frequently

• Turn volume up on TV, radio, etc.

• Withdrawal from conversations

• Avoidance of some social settings

Three types of Hearing Loss

1. Conductive- When sounds cannot get thru the out and middle ear. It maybe hard to hear soft sounds. Louder sounds may be muffled.

*Medicine or surgery can often fix this type of hearing loss.

2. Sensorineural- Happens when there is damage in your inner ear. Normally problems with the nerve pathways from your inner ear to your brain. Soft sounds may be hard to hear. Louder sounds be unclear and muffled.

*Most common type of permanent hearing loss

*Medicine or surgery cannot fix Sensorineural hearing loss. SNHL

*Hearing aids may help you hear

3. Mixed- Means there may be damage in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear or nerve pathways to the brain. A conductive hearing loss happens at the same time as a sensorineural hearing loss or SNHL

*Conductive hearing loss and SNHL together might make your hearing worse than it would be with only one hearing loss type.