There are many causes of hearing loss, some can either be congenital, meaning before birth, or acquired, meaning after birth.
At Birth
Congenital hearing loss can be caused by following reasons-
- Genetic factor- genes like connexion 26 and mitochondrial mutations
- infections- rubella, cytomegalovirus and toxoplasmosis infections during pregnancy
- prematurity and low birth weight
- malformation of ear oragns.
After Birth
Acquired hearing can be caused by many reasons-
Loss of sensory organ like hearing due to ageing is a natural process called Presbycusis. Hearing aids can be only help who have hearing loss due to ageing.
Head injury, sudden loud blast near ear, puncturing of eardrum by cotton buds, presence of foreign objects in ear canal can cause hearing loss.
Tumours of middle and inner ear can cause hearing loss. Cholesteatoma of middle ear and accoustic neuroma of inner ear are main cause of hearing loss.
Regular or continuous exposure to loud noise can our ears. Hearing loss due to noise exposure can be permanent and mostly affecting perceptiveness of high pitch sounds. Use of ear phones and exposure to loud music nights can be harmful. Men working at noisy factory site or in heavy machinery job should use ear protection.
Earwax is naturally produced in ear canal however build up of too much wax can lead to temporary hearing loss. Ear wax can cause obstruction to sound pathway and person will have difficulty hearing soft sounds. Earwax can easily be treated by medical attention and basic hygiene.
Otitis externa and Otitis Media are common ear infections. Otitis Media can cause building of fluid in the middle ear cavity and exerting pressure on eardrum. In some cases eardrum can burst spreading infection to outer ear.
Drugs are life saving medicines however some Ototoxic drugs can be very harmful to our hair cells in ears. Ototoxic drugs such as Amakicin and Gentamicin can damage hearing if their administration is not monitored. A responsible medical practitioner always advise hearing test after treating patient with ototoxic drugs.
Bacterial Meningitis, the inflammation of the lining of the brain; Ménière’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear characterised by vertigo and tinnitus; Mumps and measles, a very contagious viral infection.
Loss of hearing over a night or in 24 to 48 hours can be caused by inner ear infection, trauma, circulatory problem, metabolic or immunologic condition.
