Diseases

Hearing Loss (Deafness)

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Partial or complete hearing loss. Levels of hearing impairment vary from a mild to a total loss of hearing. Elderly adults suffer most often from hearing loss. The most common cause of hearing loss in children is otitis media. A substantial number of hearing impairments are caused by environmental factors such as noise, drugs, and toxins. Deafness can also result from inherited disorders.

SYMPTOMS

Muffling of speech and other sounds
Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd of people
Trouble hearing consonants
Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly
Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio
Withdrawal from conversations
Avoidance of some social settings

CAUSES

Malformation of outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear structures
Fluid in the middle ear from colds
Ear infection (otitis media - an infection of the middle ear in which an accumulation of fluid may interfere with the movement of the eardrum and ossicles
Allergies
Poor eustachian tube function
Perforated eardrum
Benign tumors
Impacted earwax
Infection in the ear canal
Foreign body in the ear
Otosclerosis