There are three main types of hearing loss, with sensorineural loss being one of the most commonly found one.

What is sensorineural hearing loss?

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the result of damage in the inner ear. You can also suffer from it if your auditory nerve (the nerve that takes sound to the brain from the inner ear) is injured. People suffering from SNHL may not realise it soon since most often then not, this type of hearing loss is gradual. Therefore, by the time patients notice this hearing loss, it may have already started impacting their speech recognition.

What causes sensorineural hearing loss?

Inside the ear, there is an organ known as Cochlea that contains tiny hairs. These hairs (or stereocilia) convert the sound waves' vibrations to neural signals. These signals are then carried to the brain by the auditory nerve. This is how the process of hearing takes place. However, as humans age, stereocilia gets damaged, which makes it difficult to transmit sound and causes sensorineural hearing loss. Other than aging, another common cause of SNHL is exposure to noise that damages stereocilia. As mentioned above, patients may not take notice of SNHL until 30-50% of stereocilia is damaged.

Here are some causes of sensorineural hearing loss:

• Aging
• Excess noise (above 85 decibels)
• Birth condition
• Diseases (like mumps, multiple sclerosis, and meningitis)
• Genetic factor
• Head trauma

Sensorineural hearing loss is mostly permanent. However, hearing aids may be of some help to the patients.