Generally, there are two kinds of hearing loss.
- The first kind is caused by problems in the outer ear or in the middle ear. This could be due to an infection, which can make a hole in your eardrum. It can also be because of a problem with one of the three tiny bones in the middle ear. This kind of hearing loss is called a conductive hearing loss.
- The other kind of hearing loss happens when something goes wrong with the little hairs in your inner ear – the snail-like part of the ear called the cochlea.
When the hairs are damaged they cannot change the sound waves into a signal for the brain. If the brain doesn’t receive a message with this signal, you cannot hear properly.
This kind of hearing loss is called a sensorineural hearing loss.
