1. Understanding Conductive Hearing Loss
Conductive Hearing Loss (CHL) is hearing loss that is due to a problem in the middle or external ear. It is one of three kinds of hearing loss that is routinely seen in and treated in the medical field. Even though it is the second most common form of hearing loss, according to the Northwestern University Medical School, it affects just about .8 percent of the population. A person with CHL will have difficulty hearing sounds that are faint or will hear sounds at a reduced level.
2. How We Hear
Our inner ear plays a vital role in allowing us to experience sound. According to the Northwestern University Medical School, when the vibrations reach the cochlea through movement of the bones in the middle ear, the fluid within it begins to move, resulting in back and forth motion of tiny hairs lining the cochlea. This motion results in the hair cells sending a signal along the auditory nerve to the brain. Our brain receives these impulses in its hearing centers and interprets them as a type of sound.
3. Why It Occurs
There are three primary reasons for CHL. First, hearing loss may be due to a fluid or wax build-up in the middle of the ear. A second reason for its occurrence may stem from the ossicles or three tiny bones in the ear failing to conduct sound in the cochlea. A third reason is a failure on the part of the eardrum to vibrate in reaction to sound.
4. Diagnosing CHL
An audiologist who uses an air-bone gap testing via an audiometry diagnoses CHL. An audiometry is a device that measures hearing. In this kind of a test, a person with CHL will hear sounds that bypass the bones in the middle of the ear. The test itself is a subjective in that the individual simply raises his or her hand in response to hearing a sound.
5. CHL Is Treatable
The good news about hearing loss due to CHL is that it is often reversible. Once you determine the cause of it, you can then employ the necessary treatment options. If built-up wax or fluid is the culprit, you can have it removed. A hearing aid or surgery will also help to reverse or ameliorate the condition so that your hearing can be restored to normal functioning levels.
