Hearing Disorders and Deafness

Also called: Hearing loss, Presbycusis

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Summary

It's frustrating to be unable to hear well enough to enjoy talking with friends or family. Hearing disorders make it hard, but not impossible, to hear. They can often be helped. Deafness can keep you from hearing sound at all.

What causes hearing loss? Some possibilities are:

Heredity
Diseases such as ear infections and meningitis
Trauma
Certain medicines
Long-term exposure to loud noise
Aging

There are two main types of hearing loss. One happens when your inner ear or auditory nerve is damaged. This type is usually permanent. The other kind happens when sound waves cannot reach your inner ear. Earwax buildup, fluid, or a punctured eardrum can cause it. Treatment or surgery can often reverse this kind of hearing loss.

Untreated, hearing problems can get worse. If you have trouble hearing, you can get help. Possible treatments include hearing aids, cochlear implants, special training, certain medicines, and surgery.

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Start Here

Hearing Loss (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

Hearing Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Hearing Tests for Adults (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

Steroid Treatments Equally Effective Against Sudden Deafness (National Institutes of Health)

Living With

Assistive Devices: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Hearing Aids: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Who Can I Turn to for Help with My Hearing Loss? (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Related Issues

American Sign Language (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Conductive Hearing Loss (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
Earbuds (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Earwax Blockage (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Noise and Hearing Loss (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Occupational Noise Exposure (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
Speech to Speech Relay Service (Federal Communications Commission)
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) (Federal Communications Commission)
Why You Shouldn't Use Cotton Swabs to Clean Your Ears (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Specifics

About Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Alport Syndrome (National Kidney Foundation)
Auditory Neuropathy (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Hearing and Balance Symptoms and Conditions (American Academy of Audiology)
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Otosclerosis (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Sudden Deafness (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Vestibular Schwannoma (Acoustic Neuroma) and Neurofibromatosis (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Genetics

Age-related hearing loss: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Alström syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Björnstad syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Branchiootorenal/branchiootic syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Congenital deafness with labyrinthine aplasia, microtia, and microdontia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Craniofacial-deafness-hand syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Deafness-dystonia-optic neuronopathy syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Otopalatodigital syndrome type 1: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Otospondylomegaepiphyseal dysplasia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Pendred syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Perrault syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Sensorineural deafness and male infertility: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Stickler syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Townes-Brocks Syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Vohwinkel syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Waardenburg syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Weissenbacher-Zweymüller syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Health Check Tools

Do You Need a Hearing Test? (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

Hearing and the cochlea (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

Quick Statistics about Hearing (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Statistics about Hearing, Balance, Ear Infections and Deafness (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Treating Hearing Loss to Help Brain Health (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Deafness (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Hearing Disorders (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Presbycusis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

NIDCD Glossary (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Find an Expert

Directory of Organizations (Deafness and Communication Disorders) (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Find an Audiologist (American Academy of Audiology)
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Children

Hearing Loss (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

Age-Related Hearing Loss (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Hearing Loss: A Common Problem for Older Adults (National Institute on Aging)

Patient Handouts

Acoustic trauma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Age-related hearing loss (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Audiometry (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Ear examination (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Hearing loss (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Occupational hearing loss (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Otosclerosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Sensorineural deafness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish