Hearing Disorders and Deafness

Also called: Hearing loss, Presbycusis

On this page

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 build-up, 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 Loss Signals Need for Diagnosis (Food and Drug Administration)
Hearing Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Inquiring Ears Want to Know: A Fact Sheet about Your Hearing Test (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) - PDF

Prevention and Risk Factors

Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Noise and Hearing Protection (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)

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

Related Issues

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

Specifics

Alport Syndrome (National Kidney Foundation)
Auditory Neuropathy (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Auditory Processing Disorders (American Academy of Audiology)
Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
Hyperacusis: An Increased Sensitivity to Everyday Sounds (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
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
Perforated Eardrum (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
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

Genes and Hearing Loss (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
Genetics Home Reference: age-related hearing loss (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Alström syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Björnstad syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: branchiootorenal/branchiootic syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital deafness with labyrinthine aplasia, microtia, and microdontia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: craniofacial-deafness-hand syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: deafness-dystonia-optic neuronopathy syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: nonsyndromic hearing loss (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: otospondylomegaepiphyseal dysplasia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Pendred syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Perrault syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: sensorineural deafness and male infertility (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Stickler syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Townes-Brocks Syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Vohwinkel syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Waardenburg syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Weissenbacher-Zweymüller syndrome (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
How Loud Is Too Loud? (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Travel Inside the Ear (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Statistics and Research

Eating Well May Slow Hearing Loss in Women (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
Quick Statistics (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Statistics about Hearing, Balance, Ear Infections and Deafness (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Too Loud! For Too Long! (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) 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

About Hearing (Gallaudet University, Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center)
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

Seniors

Age-Related Hearing Loss (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Eldercare at Home: Hearing Problems (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
Hearing Loss (National Institute on Aging)
Hearing Loss and Older Adults (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish

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