What Causes Sensorineural Hearing Loss?

90% of all hearing loss is sensorineural (pronounced “sensory-neural”), which is hearing loss caused by damage in the inner ear (cochlea) or to the nerve pathway from the inner ear to the brain.  Below are the most common causes of sensorineural hearing loss.

• Aging: As you age, hearing loss is pretty much inevitable.
• Noise Exposure: Firearms, heavy machinery, music… if it hurts your ears, it’s probably hurting your hearing.
• Head Trauma: Falls, concussions, sports injuries… when your head gets jolted, your hearing “system” can suffer.
• Virus or Disease: Diseases that spike fevers, like measles, meningitis and mumps, can lead to hearing loss.
• Genetics: Good looks and goofy jokes aren’t the only things moms and dads pass down.
• Ototoxicity: Believe it or not, medications like aspirin, certain antibiotics and some anti-cancer drugs can cause hearing loss.

If you have sensorineural hearing loss – no matter the cause – there is a good chance you can benefit from wearing hearing aids.