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Pediatric Audiology

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

In people who have sensorineural hearing loss, sound reaches the inner ear, but some sort of problem there interferes with proper hearing. This type of hearing loss occurs when inner ear nerves are damaged and fail to transmit signals to the brain properly.

Sensorineural hearing loss is usually not medically or surgically treatable, but can be treated successfully with hearing aids. Those who suffer from sensorineural hearing loss may complain that people seem to mumble, or that they hear—but don’t understand—what is being said.

While aging is the most common cause of sensorineural hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss can also be caused by:

• Injury
• Excessive noise exposure (See Noise-Related Hearing Loss)
• Viral infections (such as measles or mumps)
• Ototoxic drugs (medications that damage hearing)
• Meningitis
• Diabetes
• Stroke
• High fever
• Ménière's disease
• Acoustic tumors
• Heredity