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Types of Hearing Disabilities

A hearing disability is a condition that causes an individual to have impaired hearing or complete deafness. There are five general types of hearing loss, and all differ widely in their causes and treatments. Finding out which type of hearing loss an individual suffers from is an important first step on the path to treatment and recovery.

  1. Conductive

    • Conductive hearing loss occurs when there is an interference of sound transmission through the outer and middle to inner ear. This type of hearing loss can be treated successfully with modern medical and surgical technology, because usually the physical interference in the outer or middle ear that blocks sound can be surgically altered. Hearing aids are also beneficial for people with conductive hearing loss.

    Sensorineural

    • Sensorineural hearing loss is one of the most challenging problems in medicine, and refers to hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear, acoustic nerve or both. Only a small number of individuals with sensorineural hearing loss can be treated, and much more research is needed in this field.

    Central

    • Central hearing loss refers to a problem that results from damage in the central nervous system, even within the brain. These people can "hear" the noise of what is being said but have a lot of trouble interpreting the message. Sometimes classified as a learning disorder, this type of hearing loss is actually an inability to filter out competing auditory signals. People with central hearing loss have difficulty hearing when there is a lot of background noise or several conversations happening at once.

    Functional

    • Functional hearing loss involves an individual who has functioning ears and can technically hear sound, but is suffering from some sort of psychological or emotional problem that hinders their response. Physicians must diagnose this condition correctly so that therapy can begin and the individual with this type of hearing loss can begin the path to recovery. Often, those with functional hearing loss are misdiagnosed, and long periods of incorrect treatments can aggravate the emotional problems of the sufferer.

    Mixed

    • Mixed hearing loss refers to a case in which conductive and sensorineural hearing loss occur in the same ear. In this case, the conductive issue is often worked with first since it is so much easier to fix.

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