Conductive Hearing Loss

There are a number of types of hearing loss, which can occur separately or simultaneously in one individual. The second most common type of hearing loss is called conductive hearing loss. This situation is characterized by a problem in either the outer or middle ear, or in both of these regions of the ear. Whatever the problem, whether it’s mild or moderate conductive hearing loss, sound waves cannot be conducted to their destination in the inner ear; if a person is suffering only from conductive hearing loss, inner ear structures are working normally.

Conductive hearing loss can be caused by injury or defects in the eardrum or middle ear bones, wax buildup in the ear canal or the presence of fluid in the middle ear. Besides ear wax buildup in the ear canal, the presence of foreign bodies in the ear canal can cause conductive hearing loss; these objects, like insects, can not only block sound waves themselves, but they can also cause infection that may lead to further hearing damage. Care must be taken in removing these objects so that the ear is not damaged any further; you should immediately see a doctor to have them removed, and in some cases may need surgery.

Some people develop non-cancerous bony or cartilage growths in their ear canal, called osteomas. The majority of these growths remains small and do not need to be treated; occasionally, they can grow to fill the entire ear canal and touch the eardrum or even prevent fluid from draining properly out of the ear, in which case they need to be removed. Any infections of the outer ear could lead to conductive hearing loss; an infection of the outer ear leading to inflammation is called external otitis, which can be quite painful.

Problems in the middle ear include otitis media, which is a very common condition. It involves fluid buildup in the middle ear, caused by a variety of factors, which then leads to inflammation. The other main source of conductive hearing loss problems in the middle ear is otosclerosis, the fusing of the three small bones of the middle ear. In other patients, the connections between these ossicles are broken, in a condition called ossicular chain discontinuity; without being able to contact one another, the bones cannot pass along vibrations properly, severely hindering the transmission of sound waves to the inner ear and leading to hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss is the most treatable of the hearing loss types; once your doctor studies your conductive hearing loss audiogram, medical or surgical interventions can be tried to treat conductive hearing loss and are usually successful. If neither of these conductive hearing loss treatment options works, this type of hearing loss can benefit enormously from a hearing aid. Indeed, some experts believe that hearing aid results are usually more positive for individuals suffering from conductive hearing loss than from other types of hearing impairment.