Hearing well depends on all parts of our auditory system working normally so
that sound can pass through the different parts of the ear to the brain to
be processed without any distortion. Hearing loss of any type can affect one
or both ears and can range in severity from modest to profound. The type of
hearing problem you have depends on which part of your auditory system is
not responding well. Commonly, hearing loss is divided into three primary
types based on the region where it occurs:
- Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)If the problem is
somewhere between the cochlea in the inner ear and the brain, this is
called a sensorineural hearing loss. The pathway through the outer and
middle ears is functioning normally but, after sound arrives at the
cochlea, it isn’t processed normally either because of damage to the
delicate ‘hair cells’ in the cochlea or to the auditory nerve or because
of defects in the auditory pathway leading to the brain.There are many
causes of sensorineural hearing loss but exposure to excessive noise or
the effects of ageing are the most common. SNHL impairs the capacity to
detect faint sounds. Even when speech is sufficiently enough to be
audible, it may still be unclear or muffled.
