You just had your hearing tested and received your diagnosis, but have no idea what it means. Maybe you’re shocked you have any hearing loss at all. Then you hear words like “conductive loss,” “sensorineural loss,” and it’s been recommended that you get hearing aids or make a visit to the ENT. What does it all mean? Let’s break down the types of hearing loss so you can understand what’s really wrong and what the next right steps are.
The Two Types of Hearing Tests – Air Conduction and Bone Conduction
At the start of your hearing exam, your provider looked in your ears and made sure there was no wax blockage. They also looked for signs of infection, abnormalities of the eardrum, foreign objects in your ears, ear infections and anything else remarkable or unusual. After that, they performed a hearing test. This is the part where you hear beeps and push a button when you hear them.
There are two basic tone tests that are done to create the audiogram, or picture, of your hearing loss. The first one tests the whole hearing system, and is called air conduction. The second test is done with a bone oscillator that is placed behind the ear, and is called bone conduction.
The bone conduction test may have you wondering, “How can you hear from behind your ear?” We use vibration through your skull to move the nerves inside the cochlea of the ear. When we do this, we can separate the nerves in your ear from the entire hearing system. Whether there are differences between the two tests or not tells us if the loss is permanent or medically correctable.
Conductive Hearing Loss vs. Sensorineural Hearing Loss
In short, there are three types of hearing loss. Conductive losses are hearing losses that are caused by problems in the ear canal or middle ear. Sensorineural losses are problems with the nerves in the ear. And if you have a problem with both, that’s called a mixed loss.
Air conduction and bone conduction tests allow us to identify where there is a breakdown in the hearing system. Air conduction tests the entire hearing system, or how the ears are working as a whole. When we test bone conduction, we are testing just the nerves. If the nerves work better than the whole system, then we know there is a problem with the sound getting through the ears. This is called a conductive loss.
Conductive losses can be caused by ear infections, holes in the eardrum, and problems with bones moving (or not moving) in the ears, among other things. Conductive hearing loss has the potential to be improved in part or in whole through the efforts of an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor or otolaryngologist. If the nerves tested OK, but the whole system did not, that is when you should be referred to an otolaryngologist to see what can be done.
Sensorineural losses are permanent and are caused by problems with the nerves inside the inner ear or cochlea. This type of loss is not something surgery or medication can fix. Usually, this type of loss can be corrected through amplification, the use of hearing aids.
Mixed losses are trickier, since there are multiple situations causing problems. Mixed losses are both conductive and sensorineural. That means there are multiple areas in your ears causing problems. The professional who performed your hearing test will tell you the next step, but likely it will be to go to an ENT to check first on the conductive part of the hearing loss. Once that is identified, you will likely have another hearing exam done to see what changes have occurred after treatment by the ENT. If no treatment is recommended, you will likely be referred back to HearingLife for treatment with amplification.
I hope this clarifies things a bit; and remember, you should always feel comfortable asking your hearing care provider any questions! If you forget or have questions later, feel free to call back and ask. A good provider will be happy to return your call.
If you think you have hearing loss, we invite you to visit HearingLife for a free hearing test at one of our more than 600 locations nationwide. We’ll help you determine if you have hearing loss and guide you through your next steps if you do.
