FAQ

There are three types of hearing loss: conductive, sensorineural, and mixed hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss occurs from loss of sound sensitivity resulting from abnormalities of the middle and/or outer ear. The auditory nerve’s function is still normal, the sound is just impeded from getting to the inner ear. This type of loss is common in children with ear infections; once the infection is cleared up, the hearing is restored.

Sensorineural hearing loss results from abnormalities of the inner ear and/or nerve paths to the brain. The auditory cells and nerve are permanently damaged. This is the type of hearing loss often referred to as “nerve deafness”.

Mixed hearing losses are those that have symptoms of both conductive and sensorineural hearing losses.

It is possible for earwax to build up and partially or completely occlude (obstruct) the ear canal. Each individual person creates a different amount of wax. Earwax or cerumen is an oily, fatty substance that is created to protect the ear canal. A buildup of wax can result in typically a mild to moderate conductive hearing loss. Once the wax is removed, the hearing is restored.

At Hearing Partners of South Florida, we can let you know if you have a wax buildup and how it can be removed.

An estimated 28 million people suffer from hearing loss. Hearing loss is present in 3 out of every 10 adults between the ages of 50 and 64 and 4 out of every 10 adults ages 65 and over.

• Others complain you have the television too loud
• You have problems hearing birds or wind
• You have difficulty hearing female voices or children
• You have difficulty hearing in groups
• You find yourself confusing words or making silly mistakes misunderstanding conversations
• Other people, or family members, think you have a hearing loss

• Bleeding/draining from your ears
• Head trauma
• Sudden hearing loss
• Balance problems
• Ear pain
• Fluctuating hearing loss
• Ringing in ears
• Feeling of fullness or pressure in ears

The ringing sensation that can be detected in your head, or individual ears, is called tinnitus.This ringing is usually an indication of some damage to your auditory system (especially noise damage). It can be constant or periodic and on one specific side or in the middle of your head.There is no magic cure for tinnitus, but there are methods that can help you live with it. Sometimes hearing aids help by bringing more sound to the brain, thus distracting attention from the ringing. If you have ringing consistently on one side, you will want to ask your doctor about it. Click here to learn more about tinnitus.

• Noise exposure (military, hunting, music, industrial, racing, power saws, lawn mowers)
• Heredity
• Certain chemotherapy and radiation treatments
• Certain heavy-duty antibiotics
• Head trauma
• Wax
• Ear infections
• Viral infections

Usually hearing loss is permanent. Consult with your doctor to see if your symptoms are medical in nature and need any treatment, especially if you have a sudden hearing loss. Even hearing instruments will not restore normal hearing. Hearing instruments will make previously missed sounds available at the level of stimulation your auditory system needs at that particular pitch.

If you have difficulty hearing in crowds, you could have a high-frequency hearing loss. With this type of loss you can hear well in one-on-one situations and even in small groups. However, when you are exposed to distracting speech/noise, you can hear the noise louder than the speech. Your normal low-frequency hearing picks up the low-pitched noise at a normal-hearing level, while you miss some of the high-frequency speech sounds, where your hearing loss is located, that bring in clarity. This hearing loss is not as noticeable when speaking with someone without any competing noise.

You may have a high-frequency hearing loss. Female voices, children’s voices, and even a majority of speech understanding lies in the high frequencies. You may hear the low frequency sounds normally but miss the high frequency sounds.

Hearing and understanding are two different things. It is possible to hear something and not understand. This may be due to a high-frequency hearing loss. Most consonant sounds are high in pitch and bring clarity to speech. They help you discriminate between different words (i.e.. pick, tick, brick, lick, sick). If you have a high-frequency hearing loss, you miss the consonant clarity sounds while hearing the volume from the low pitches.