'Say Again?' Most Common Causes of Hearing Loss in Adults

You may not think too much about your ear health outside of practicing proper hygiene when you might have some excess earwax.

While it's common for adults to lose hearing as we age, hearing loss can impact you at any age and can be caused by a variety of conditions and injuries.

Here are some of the most common reasons you may lose hearing as well as why age can impact your hearing negatively.

Ear-Related Diseases

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association lists several diseases that can impact your ability to hear.

• Otosclerosis: This disease impacts your middle ear, which includes your eardrum and three tiny bones called ossicles. Together, these parts move when noise reaches your eardrum and signal the inner ear. Otosclerosis makes it harder for the ossicles to move, causing conductive hearing loss, which makes loud sounds seem muffled and soft sounds difficult to sense. Surgery is often the best treatment for otosclerosis.
• Meniere's Disease: This disease impacts the inner ear, which is made of two parts that help you hear (the cochlea) and help you balance (the semicircular canals). The cause of Meniere's disease is not known but commonly impacts adults from 30-50 years old. Beyond hearing loss, symptoms may include dizziness, ringing in the ear and sensitivity to loud sounds. There is no cure for Meniere's disease but medications, dietary changes and surgery may help alleviate dizziness associated with the condition.
• Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease: An autoimmune disease happens when the body's immune system attacks healthy cells in your body. This can lead to sudden hearing loss and should not be ignored. If you experience sudden hearing loss, contact your primary care provider as soon as possible. Treatments may help relieve hearing loss or keep hearing loss to a minimum.

Trauma & Loud Noises

Your ears are complex organs that include cartilage, tissue, tiny bones, fluid and even small hair cells. Just like your other organs, trauma and how you treat your ears can often impact their function.

Loud noises, including listening to loud music, using headphones at a high volume or attending a loud event without earplugs can lead to permanent hearing loss. These and other loud noises can strain your eardrum over time and impact how sensitive it is to sound. Certain sounds, like explosions, can cause sudden hearing loss.

Head injuries can also impact your hearing, whether you experience a traumatic brain injury, a rupture in your eardrum or other damage to the different parts of your ear.

Other Causes of Hearing Loss

Disease, trauma and loud noises cover many of the common causes of hearing loss, but there are some others you may be unfamiliar with.

Vestibular Schwannoma (or Acoustic Neuroma) is when a benign, often slow-growing tumor develops on the nerves leading from your inner ear to your brain. The tumor is noncancerous but can impact your hearing and ability to balance. Other symptoms include ringing in the impacted ear and loss of balance. Treatments can include radiation or surgery to have the tumor partially or fully removed.

Otitis Media is an ear infection that impacts the middle ear and is most common in children. It's caused by mucus getting stuck in the space behind the eardrum due to poor drainage through the eustachian tube, which creates pressure on the eardrum. This can cause issues with hearing and even result in a torn eardrum. Usually, ear infections will clear on their own, but your provider may prescribe antibiotics to clear the infection.

Age-Related Hearing Loss

Presbycusis, more commonly known as age-related hearing loss, occurs gradually and is one of the most common conditions impacting adults as we age. Doctors still aren't sure how to prevent age-related hearing loss, but protecting yourself from noise-induced hearing loss can help.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders says there are many changes and conditions that impact hearing as we age, including changes in the middle ear and nerve pathways to the brain. High blood pressure and diabetes are also associated with hearing loss.

To tell if you are experiencing gradual hearing loss is to be more attentive to how your hearing impacts daily activities. You can ask yourself questions like:

• Are you needing to turn the radio or television up louder in order to hear?
• Do you feel frustrated talking to members of your family because you're having trouble hearing them?
• Are you visiting or interacting with friends, family or neighbors less because of your hearing?

Your primary care provider should often be your first stop if you think you are experiencing hearing loss. They can help diagnose your symptoms and refer to you a specialist, if necessary. EvergreenHealth ENT + Head & Neck Surgical Care delivers comprehensive treatment for ear and hearing disorders.