Approximately 15% of American adults report experiencing some trouble with their hearing, and sensorineural hearing loss, or SNHL, is by far the most common type of hearing loss. Let’s discuss SNHL: what it is, what causes it, how to prevent it and how to treat it.
What It Is
The process of hearing is like a relay race: sound waves enter your ear and travel down the ear canal to the eardrum, striking it and causing it to vibrate and send the waves deeper into the ear. These vibrations enter an organ called the cochlea, which contains tiny hair-like sensory cells that gather these vibrations and convert them into electrical signals, capturing the pitch and timbre of the sound. To complete the relay race, the hair cells transmit their electric signals to the brain via the auditory nerve, whereupon the brain processes the sound information and perceives sounds.
With hearing loss, a breakdown has happened in this relay race. With SNHL, the breakdown happens either at the cochlea or the auditory nerve. The other common form of hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, occurs when the breakdown happens at the outer or middle ear.
What Causes It
There are many factors that can cause damage or dysfunction to the inner ear or auditory nerve, leading to SNHL. The most common causes include:
- Age. Your ears and auditory system, like many other systems in your body, age and degrade over time.
- Loud noise exposure. When loud, forceful sound waves enter the cochlea, their concussive force can cause the hair cells to bend or break. Damaged cells cannot collect or transmit sound information to the brain.
- Head or neck trauma.
- Viral infections, particularly in the middle or inner ear. Bacterial infections can infect the delicate tissues of the inner ear.
- Ototoxic drugs: medications that are known to cause direct damage to the inner ear.
- Autoimmune disorders in which your body attacks living tissue instead of foreign invaders. In some cases, the immune system can attack the tissues of the inner ear.
- Tumors or acoustic neuroma. These growths, even if they’re benign like acoustic neuroma, can put pressure on the organs of the inner ear or the auditory nerve, obstructing the movement of sound information.
How to Prevent It
Some causes of SNHL, such as aging or autoimmune disorders, are difficult, if not impossible, to prevent. However, there are some measures you can take to mitigate your chances of developing SNHL.
Loud noise exposure is the second-most common cause of SNHL. (Natural aging is the first.) Prevent hearing damage from loud noise by wearing hearing protection if you know you’re going to be in a loud environment (e.g., a live concert, a shooting range, or using power tools like a jackhammer). Always keep volume levels at safe levels when watching TV or listening to music through headphones. SNHL from loud noise exposure is not reversible, but it is preventable.
Many ototoxic medications are necessary for managing other health conditions. Some drugs that can be ototoxic are some chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics and medications to manage certain heart and kidney conditions. Do not stop taking critical medications. However, it’s important to discuss any possible side effects with your care team.
How to Treat It
SNHL is not reversible; damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve is permanent. The good news is that there are some great treatment options available. The most common is hearing aids. Hearing aids bring multiple benefits to your life, beyond enhancing your ability to hear. They’re proven to enhance mental, physical and cognitive well-being. If you’re ready to begin your hearing aids journey and combat your SNHL, call Tinnitus & Hearing Experts to set up an appointment with one of our audiologists.