{"id":10277,"date":"2023-03-10T16:20:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T00:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/?p=10277"},"modified":"2023-05-16T11:50:38","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T18:50:38","slug":"what-are-the-differences-between-conductive-sensorineural-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/what-are-the-differences-between-conductive-sensorineural-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are the Differences Between Conductive &amp; Sensorineural Hearing Loss?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There are three main types of <a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing loss<\/a>: conductive, sensorineural and mixed. The first two are classified based on where the problem is within the ear, while the last one is a combination of both. In this post, we focus on conductive and sensorineural hearing loss \u2013 primarily, the differences between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where They Occur Within the Ear<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/hearing-aid-benefits-care-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Otoscope and behind the ear hearing aid being displayed on an audiogram\" class=\"wp-image-10282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/hearing-aid-benefits-care-scaled-1.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/hearing-aid-benefits-care-scaled-1-768x600.jpg 768w, https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/hearing-aid-benefits-care-scaled-1-1280x1000.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/hearing-aid-benefits-care-scaled-1-1536x1200.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/hearing-aid-benefits-care-scaled-1-256x200.jpg 256w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Conductive hearing loss is caused by a problem with the outer or middle ear. Some problems that can contribute to conductive hearing loss include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Microtia\/atresia (underdeveloped ear)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stenosis (narrowing of the ear canal)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earwax impaction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exostoses (abnormal bone growths in the outer ear)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Otitis externa (swimmer\u2019s ear)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Foreign bodies in the ear canal<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ruptured eardrum<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tympanosclerosis (thickening of the eardrum)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Otitis media (middle ear infection)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blockages in the Eustachian tubes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Otosclerosis (abnormal bone growths in the middle ear)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/cholesteatoma\/\">Cholesteatoma<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ossicular chain discontinuity (break in connection between bones in the middle ear)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Sensorineural hearing loss, on the other hand, is caused by a problem with the inner ear. Contributing factors include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Aging<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Noise exposure at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood Hills<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Congenital hearing loss (syndromic and nonsyndromic)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Head injury<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Meniere\u2019s disease<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ototoxic drugs (aminoglycosides, loop diuretics, chemotherapy drugs, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Systemic conditions (meningitis, diabetes, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidcd.nih.gov\/health\/vestibular-schwannoma-acoustic-neuroma-and-neurofibromatosis\">Acoustic neuroma<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Autoimmune disease (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Barotrauma<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Symptoms They Cause<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK542323\/\">article<\/a> published in the National Library of Medicine, \u201cThe main difference between the two kinds of hearing loss, apart from the pathophysiological features, is that patients with conductive hearing loss perceive the sounds diminished, while [sensorineural hearing loss] patients may perceive the sounds diminished and distorted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, it\u2019s more common for someone to experience ear pain or pressure and odor coming from the ear with conductive hearing loss than with sensorineural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How They Are Treated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In many cases, conductive hearing loss may be reversed or corrected with medication or surgery. For example, impacted earwax can be professionally removed, an ear infection can be cleared with antibiotics, and a malformation can be reconstructed with surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the underlying cause cannot be addressed, traditional hearing aids or bone-anchored hearing aids may be recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sensorineural hearing loss has no cure, and it cannot be reversed. <a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hearing aids<\/a> or cochlear implants are the gold star treatments. For more information about the differences between conductive and sensorineural hearing loss or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call The House Institute today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are three main types of hearing loss: conductive, sensorineural and mixed. The first two are classified based on where the problem is within the ear, while the last one is a combination of both. In this post, we focus on conductive and sensorineural hearing loss \u2013 primarily, the differences between them. Where They Occur&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,17,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-aids","category-hearing-aid-centers","category-hearing-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}