Hearing loss is called the reduction of auditory capacity. Hearing loss is a problem found in most modern societies have introduced in citizens’ everyday life, beyond the sound pollution of the environment from the noise of cities, customs and ways of life quite polluting in acoustic terms. It can happen to any man, regardless of age or even congenital.
Usually hearing loss is a result of ear infections, ear trauma, cell accumulation (wax), etc. and is most often reversible with surgery, medication, cleaning of the ear, etc. In other cases the fault lies in the perceptual system of sound, i.e. the cochlea or auditory nerve.
Hearing loss can occur in many ways. Someone may be born with hearing loss, so that is called congenital hearing loss. Hearing loss may be either conductive or sensorineural, or more rarely mixed. Alternatively, the condition that causes hearing loss can be hereditary, but may not be evident at birth. Otosclerosis is a good example of hereditary conductivity hearing loss. Finally, the cause of deafness can be acquired and deafness caused by noise (acoustic trauma) is an example of sensorineural damage, while the tympanic membrane perforation is an example of conduction failure.
All forms of hearing loss, conductive, sensorineural, or mixed, may belong to any of the 3 categories (which are indicative of how they are created), i.e., congenital, hereditary or acquired. The significance of this classification is that the detection of the situation, the impact of the problem, treating patients and potential outcomes vary very significantly depending on the origin of aids.
Hearing loss, other than its scientific side, is now a major social problem. It is estimated that more than half a billion people worldwide suffer from some degree of reduction of auditory acuity and need to be addressed.