Hearing Loss & Deafness

Normal Hearing

Sounds travel down the ear canal to the ear drum which focuses the vibrations into the chain of three small bones (ossicles) and onwards to the inner ear (cochlea). This acts like a transformer converting the vibration of the sound waves into electrical impulses which travel along the auditory nerve to the brain. 

Types of Deafness

Hearing loss may result from a conductive cause (outer or middle ear problem) or a sensorineural cause (inner ear problem). Conductive hearing loss in children is often due to ‘glue ear’ which occasionally can be treated with an operation such as grommet insertion. A perforation in the ear drum may cause a hearing loss and so surgical repair by myringoplasty may improve the hearing. The small bones within the middle ear are a very delicate structure and damage to these will cause hearing loss – they can sometimes be repaired surgically as in ossiculoplasty. Sometimes these bones become fixed and so stapedectomy may be necessary to replace the stapes part of the chain of bones. 

Hearing aids are the usual treatment for a sensorineural hearing loss and we can access the very latest in digital hearing aid technology including the recent ‘open fit’ hearing aids through our audiology colleagues. Sometimes, conventional hearing aids cannot be worn so a bone conduction hearing device/ implant (BCHD/ BCHI) or an active middle ear implant (MEI) may be an alternative option. If the hearing is worse in one ear, a MRI scan of the ears and brain may be required.