Symptoms
Most common symptoms of hearing loss:
- Reduced hearing
- Difficulty understanding due to background noise (“hearing but not understanding”)
- Tinnitus
In the event of sudden severe hearing loss you should contact your ENT physician immediately.
Types of hearing loss
There is a difference between hearing loss due to middle ear problems (conduction), inner ear problems (perception) or a combination of both.
- Middle ear problems are often alleviated with a middle ear operation or tympanoplasty.
- Inner ear or combined types of hearing loss are often alleviated with a hearing aid or acoustic implant. The most common type of inner ear hearing loss is aged related hearing loss (presbycusis).
- A cochlear implant is an appropriate treatment for deafness. Our implants are always based on optimum, internationally accepted techniques, together with due regard for future new therapies.
Risk factors and heredity
- Noise related damage (ear protection! Talk to your ENT physician about it).
- Certain medications (e.g. some forms of chemotherapy) can cause hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Some types of hearing loss are hereditary.