What causes hearing loss? Hearing loss can happen suddenly or gradually. Sometimes there’s an underlying medical reason, but for the most part, it’s simply age-related, and/or the result of being exposed to loud noises over time.
Click on the numbers to the left for a quick primer on how hearing works.
Four parts of the ear are involved in hearing
The outer ear
Sound waves enter the outer ear and travel through the ear canal to the eardrum, causing it to vibrate.
Four parts of the ear are involved in hearing
The middle ear
The vibrations travel to the eardrum, which is connected to three tiny bones in the middle ear called ossicles. The ossicles naturally amplify the sound before it enters the inner ear.
Four parts of the ear are involved in hearing
The inner ear
This part of the ear contains a fluid-filled cochlea lined with thousands of tiny hair cells. As the fluid moves in waves along the cochlea, the hair cells bend and trigger impulses through the auditory nerve. The number of hair cells bending, and their location, determines the frequency and intensity of the sound.
Four parts of the ear are involved in hearing
The auditory nerve
These impulses travel up the auditory nerve to the brain, where they are interpreted as meaningful sounds.
Click on the numbers to the left for a quick primer on how hearing aids help with hearing loss.
How wearing
hearing aids can help
The outer ear
This part of the ear remains unaffected by hearing loss. Sound waves enter the outer ear and travel to the hearing aid, which amplifies sound to compensate for the missing hair cells in the cochlea.
How wearing
hearing aids can help
The middle ear
Sound exiting the hearing aid travels to the eardrum, which is connected to three tiny bones called ossicles. The ossicles naturally amplify the sound before it enters the inner ear.
How wearing
hearing aids can help
The inner ear
This part of the ear contains a fluid-filled cochlea lined with thousands of tiny hair cells, some of which are damaged or missing, causing the hearing loss. At this stage, the sound has been amplified to compensate for the missing sounds and their location. As the fluid moves in waves along the cochlea, a greater number of intact hair cells are now able to bend and trigger impulses through the auditory nerve.
How wearing
hearing aids can help
The auditory nerve
Impulses from the increased number of hair cells travel up the auditory nerve to the brain and provide more information than would otherwise be available. This additional information makes it easier for someone with a hearing aid to interpret meaningful sounds.
Find a hearing healthcare professional If you think you have a hearing loss talk to the experts. Locate a qualified hearing healthcare professional close to you.
Check your own hearing now A hearing healthcare professional can tell you if you have a hearing loss: in the meantime, take this quick self-assessment to screen your own hearing.
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