Hörverlust
Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
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Veröffentlicht am Sep 17, 2021
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If you have been diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss, you are not alone. Of the three key types of hearing loss – sensorineural, conductive, and mixed – sensorineural hearing loss is the most common, with 200,000 cases annually in the U.S.
Sensorineural hearing loss, also known as SNHL, occurs when the inner ear is damaged. Typically, this means the hair cells of the inner ear are damaged, or, “problems with the auditory nerve or anywhere along the central auditory pathways can cause SNHL,” said Rosette R. Reisman, AuD, who heads the Audiology department for Northwell Health's Physician Partners at Lenox Hill, and is an associate professor at the CUNY Graduate Center. It can be classed as mild to profound, depending on the degree of loss.
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SNHL may affect one or both ears, and while it can happen suddenly, it typically occurs gradually. It is permanent, but there are ways to minimize its impact, which we discuss below.
The causes of SNHL are generally categorized as either “congenital” or “acquired.” Congenital means the condition was present at birth. Acquired hearing loss is more common and happens at any point in your lifetime.
“The majority of sensorineural hearing losses are a result of a genetic disorder, aging, a history of noise exposure at work or recreationally,” explains Reisman. Aging is a very common culprit: Age-related hearing loss, sometimes called presbycusis, impacts 1 in 3 people between the ages of 65 and 74 in America.
Other causes of SNHL include the following:
Symptoms may differ depending on the severity of the loss and the frequencies affected. SNHL generally affects the loudness of sounds and your ability to understand speech. “Individuals with any degree or configuration of hearing loss will begin to notice a deterioration of their communication abilities,” Reisman told HearingTracker. “Often, this is noted when trying to have conversations in the presence of background noise.”
Other symptoms of SNHL include:
“Treatment is usually dependent on the cause and the degree of hearing loss,” according to Reisman. “For permanent sensorineural hearing losses that do not have a medical or surgical treatment, more often than not, patients will benefit from some form of a hearing device, whether it is a hearing aid or a cochlear implant. This is dependent on the degree of hearing loss.”
Hearing aids help by amplifying the sounds you can’t easily hear. For more severe losses, cochlear implants may be a better option. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device. It provides a sense of hearing by electronically stimulating the auditory nerve.
“One of the benefits to pursuing amplification is that it often can treat or improve other co-occurring disorders like tinnitus and imbalance,” explains Reisman.
If you are worried about your hearing, don’t hesitate to make an appointment with a qualified hearing healthcare specialist. They can perform a complete hearing examination and tests to determine the best treatment option.
Carly Sygrove ist eine Hörverlust-Coachin und Autorin im Bereich Gehörgesundheit, die an einseitiger Taubheit lebt. Sie schreibt über das Leben mit Hörverlust auf My Hearing Loss Story und verwaltet eine Online-Selbsthilfegruppe für Menschen mit Hörverlust. Sie ist auch die Gründerin der Website Sudden Hearing Loss Support, einer Informations- und Unterstützungsquelle für Menschen, die von plötzlichem Hörverlust betroffen sind.
