What is Sensorineural hearing loss

A survey reports that 90% of people who suffer from the loss of hearing ability account for Sensorineural hearing loss. It can be mild, severe or permanent, it entirely depends upon the underlying cause and severity of the condition. Sensorineural hearing loss occurs due to the damage in the hair cells that are present in your inner ear or damage to the nerve, that crosses from the inner ear to the brain while carrying signals to the brain. Age factor is one of the most common causes of sensorineural hearing loss in people, but several other factors are responsible for the same.

Sensorineural hearing loss is categorized into two parts, congenital and acquired sensorineural hearing loss. Congenital hearing loss occurs during pregnancy due to various factors like prematurity, genetics, diabetes to the mother, lack of oxygen supply during the birth and so on. Whereas hearing loss that occurs after the birth can be caused due to various external factors like exposure to loud noise, injury, infection, side effects of certain drugs or age-related issues.

Some of the common causes of acquired sensorineural hearing loss

1. Aging

Aging is the most important factor that is responsible for causing a hearing disability in a person. A study reports that a majority of people between the age group of 65-75 years are diagnosed with Sensorineural hearing loss. It occurs over time and affects both the ears of the person, which makes it quite difficult to get noticed.  

2. Exposure to loud sound

Exposure to loud music or noise for an elongated period results in hearing loss. Exposure to sound louder than 85 decibels result in such a condition.

3. Disease and infection

A person can experience sensorineural hearing loss if he/she is exposed to various diseases such as mumps, meningitis, multiple sclerosis, ménières disease, etc.

4. Side effects of certain medicines

 A side effect of certain drugs like aspirin, cisplatin, quinine or the antibiotics streptomycin & gentamicin, can even cause certain infections and cause sensorineural hearing loss in a person.

5. Tumors

 An abnormal skin growth in the middle ear leads to sensorineural hearing loss in a patient. Acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor is a common tumor that affects the auditory system and cholesteatoma.

Symptoms of sensorineural hearing loss

1. A person may experience loud sound in one ear
2. A person may experience difficulty in hearing in noisy areas
3. Unable to hear women's voice
4. Unable to recognize high-pitched sounds (such as "s" or "th") from one another
5. When you start hearing unclear voices from other people
6. If you are experiencing Meniere disease, you may start feeling dizzy or off balance.
7. May hear a ringing or buzzing sound in the ears which (tinnitus)

Treatment of sensorineural hearing loss

In most cases, sensorineural hearing loss is permanent as the hair cells in the inner ear which are damaged, cannot be repaired or replaced. If one has experienced sensorineural hearing loss due to age factor its a permanent loss of hearing ability. Mild sensorineural hearing loss can be cured in some cases if medical help is taken immediately. An expert doctor will diagnose the underlying treatment before suggesting the treatment for sensorineural hearing loss. Patients who are diagnosed with mild acquired sensorineural hearing loss can be treated by wearing hearing aids. Whereas those with severe sensorineural hearing loss will be treated with cochlear implants. It is an electronic hearing device that is surgically implanted directly into the inner ear. Your doctor will advise on the risks and benefits before implantation. Seek medical help as soon as you start experiencing symptoms of sensorineural hearing loss to prevent it from getting severe.

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