Home » Hearing Problems » Causes There are several possible causes of hearing problems. Hearing Problems can also lead to hearing loss if the problem persists for a long time without proper medication. Disruption or damage to any part of the hearing system can be the causes of hearing problems. Hearing problem causes can range from wax blocking of the ear canal to age-related changes, sensory cells of the cochlea, and brain damage. Causes of hearing problems in adults include age-related hearing loss, Meniere’s disease, side-effects of medication, and acoustic neuroma. Other common hearing problem causes are infection, earwax, exposure to deafening noise, trauma, obstruction by foreign body and glue ear. Basically, there are two types of causes of hearing problems, they are: conductive hearing loss, and sensorineural hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss can be caused by anything that disturbs or interferes with the sound transmission from the outer to inner ear. Some of the causes of conductive hearing loss are: (1) Otitis media or infection in the middle ear (2) Damage to the ear ossicles, like serious head injury or infection (3) Collection of fluid in the middle ear, this is called as “glue ear” in children (4) Pierced or perforated ear drum that can be caused because of an untreated infection in the ear, severe blow to the ear, head injury, or by poking something hard into the ear (6) Otosclerosis can also be a cause where the ossicles of the middle ear gets hardened and become less mobile (7) The outer ear gets blocked, mostly by the presence of hard wax.

Sensorineural hearing loss is another cause that not only leads to hearing problems, but also to hearing loss. This cause of hearing loss is due to the damage of the pathway that is taken by the sound impulses from the hair cells present in the inner ear to the auditory nerve and the brain. Some of the possible causes of hearing problems due to this cause are: (1) Presbyacusis or age-related hearing loss that causes natural hearing declination in older people. (2) Certain bacterial or viral infections, like meningitis or mumps, can cause loss of hair cells or other types of damages to the auditory nerve (3) Acoustic trauma or injury caused due to loud noise can also cause damage to the hair cells (4) Meniere’s disease that causes tinnitus, dizziness, also causes hearing loss (5) Acoustic neuroma or a benign tumor that affects the auditory nerve can also be a cause. The tumor needs to be observed and are sometimes also treated with surgery (6) Certain drugs, like powerful antibiotics, can lead to permanent hearing loss. Aspirin, if taken at high doses, can cause temporary tinnitus (a persistent ringing in the ear). Even quinine also causes tinnitus but not permanent damage to the ear (7) Several other neurological conditions like stroke, multiple sclerosis, or a brain tumor can also cause hearing loss.

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