{"id":3887,"date":"2019-12-16T05:09:08","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T11:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selectivehearingmatters.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/16\/what-is-conductive-hearing-loss\/"},"modified":"2019-12-16T05:09:08","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T11:09:08","slug":"what-is-conductive-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectivehearingmatters.com\/what-is-conductive-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Conductive Hearing Loss?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a sound is made, it goes through a journey to reach your brain for processing and understanding. When something is blocking that journey, preventing you from hearing that noise, this is known as conductive hearing loss.<\/p>\n

To understand conductive hearing loss, its causes, symptoms, and treatments, we must first understand what happens to a sound in its journey to the brain.<\/p>\n

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How We Hear<\/h2>\n

Our ears are amazing and intricate organs that in 1\/20th of a second from when the sound was made, can take that sound and transform it into something that our brain can discern.<\/p>\n

When a sound or noise is created, it travels through the air to reach your outer ear. The outer ear is specially shaped to ensure that sounds are caught and then sent directly into the ear canal. As it moves through the ear canal, it makes contact with the eardrum. The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, is a membrane that divides the outer ear from the middle ear and is shaped like a wide cone.<\/p>\n

The sound causes the membrane to vibrate, activating the three tiny bones, the malleus, incus, and stapes. These bones, also known as the hammer, anvil, and stirrup, are the smallest in the human body<\/a>\u00a0then send work together to amplify the vibration, sending it through an intricate maze to stimulate the fluid in the inner ear.<\/p>\n

The inner ear then translates these vibrations into electrical signals that can be sent directly to your brain via the auditory nerve. The brain processes the electrical signals into information that we can understand.<\/p>\n

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What is Conductive Hearing Loss?<\/h2>\n

When something, typically a blockage, prevents all or some of the sound from completing its journey to the inner ear, a conductive hearing loss has occurred. Issues with the ear canal, eardrum, hammer, anvil, or stirrup can also cause conductive hearing loss<\/a>. The problem can range from mild to severe, depending on how freely sound can make its journey through the ear.<\/p>\n

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Causes of Conductive Hearing Loss<\/h2>\n

Most commonly, blockage due to earwax causes conductive hearing loss, but other issues ranging from simple and easily fixed to rare and complicated can also be the contributing factor. These issues<\/a> can include:<\/p>\n