Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sensorineural Hearing Loss means there is damage either to the tiny hair cells in your inner ear (known as stereocilia), or to the nerve pathways that lead from your inner ear to the brain. It normally affects both ears. Once you develop Sensorineural Hearing Loss, you have it for the rest of your life. It can be mild, moderate, severe or profound. 

The causes of this type of hearing loss are generally sorted into two categories: acquired or congenital. Most people have acquired hearing loss. 

Acquired Sensorineural Hearing Loss means the hearing loss develops after a person is born, usually later in life. Causes can include: 

• Aging: One of the most common conditions of growing older is presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss. Because this type of loss occurs over time, typically in both ears, it’s sometimes difficult to notice
• Noise: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) can be caused by exposure to a one-time loud noise, such as an explosion, or from sounds louder than 85 decibels (dB) over an extended period of time
• Disease and infections: Viral infections—including measles, meningitis and mumps—can cause Sensorineural Hearing Loss
• Head or acoustic trauma: Damage to the inner ear also can be caused by a blow to the head or exposure to extremely loud noise, such as an explosion
• Medications: More than 200 medications and chemicals are ototoxic, or damaging to hearing health. Some of those known to cause permanent damage include certain types of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications and cancer chemotherapy drugs 

Sensorineural Hearing Loss affects both the loudness and the clarity of the sounds heard and can affect all ranges of hearing. 

Many with Sensorineural Hearing Loss report that they can hear but struggle to understand speech. This is especially true in the presence of background noise, and it can be frustrating and exhausting to deal with. 

Most often, the recommended treatment is hearing aids programmed to the unique hearing loss. Simply amplifying all sounds won’t help hear better because some sounds would still be distorted. Proper testing and fitting is vital.  In some cases a cochlear implant may be the better option.