What causes hearing impairment?
Usually, hearing loss is caused by two systems. It could be a sensory hearing loss, meaning there's a problem with the nerve or that system. The inner ear has special hair cells that transmit sound to the nerves, and when you age those cells become less effective in transmiting sound and you lose hearing. The other most common reason for hearing loss is a conductive loss, meaning the bones or the ear drum itself are affected by age and they become stiff, loosing their ability to amplify sound. That commonly can be treated with a surgical procedure to kind of amplifie the sound, either with putting a prothesis in, or removing the ear drum and replacing it with a new one. Another cause of hearing loss is found in trauma patients who have been in accidents. Even though you don't suffer any blunt or direct trauma to the head, just a sudden motion, especially in car accidents, sort of like whiplash, the ear can suffer whiplash as well. The ear has special fluid filled chambers that help to monitor your balance and help keep you in alignment, and often in accidents that fluid is shaken up or the membranes that house the fluid are torn and that can cause problems with the hearing or dizziness as well.
