What is the difference between hearing loss and deafness

Hearing impairment, deafness, or hearing loss refers to the inability to hear things, either totally or partially.

Symptoms for the inability to hear things either totally or partially may be mild, moderate, severe, or profound. A patient with mild hearing impairment may have problems understanding speech, especially if there is a lot of noise around, while those with moderate deafness may need a hearing aid. Some people are severely deaf and depend on lip-reading when communicating with others.

People who are profoundly deaf can hear nothing at all. In order to communicate spontaneously and rapidly with people, they are totally reliant on lip-reading and/or sign language.

The difference between hearing loss and deafness

Hearing loss refers to a diminished ability to hear sounds like other people do, while deafness refers to the inability to understand speech through hearing even when sound is amplified. Profound deafness means the person can not hear anything at all; they are unable to detect sound, even at the highest volume possible.

Degree of hearing impairment - a person's severity of hearing impairment is categorized by how much louder than "usual levels" sound volumes need to be set before they can detect a sound.

Degree of deafness - any degree of deafness means the person can not understand speech through hearing at any level of amplification. If a person is profoundly deaf, they can not detect sounds at any volume.

There are three different types of hearing loss:

1) Conductive hearing loss

This means that the vibrations are not passing through from the outer ear to the inner ear, specifically the cochlea. It can be due to an excessive build-up of earwax, glue ear, an ear infection with inflammation and fluid buildup, a perforated eardrum, or a malfunction of the ossicles (bones in the middle ear). Also, the eardrum may be defective.

Ear infections can leave scar tissue which damages the functioning of the eardrum.

The ossicles may be impaired due to infection, trauma, or fusing together (ankylosis).

2) Sensorineural hearing loss

Hearing loss is caused by dysfunction of the inner ear, the cochlea, auditory nerve, or brain damage. Usually, this kind of hearing loss is due to damage to the hair cells in the cochlea. As humans get older, the hair cells lose some of their functions, and our hearing gets worse.

Long-term exposure to loud noises, especially high-frequency sounds, is another common reason for hair cell damage. Damaged hair cells can not be replaced. Currently, research is looking into using stem cells to grow new ones.

Sensorineural total deafness may be due to birth defects, inner ear infections, or head trauma. If the eardrum and middle ear are functioning properly, patients may benefit from a cochlear implant - a thin electrode is inserted in the cochlea, it stimulates electricity through a tiny microprocessor that is placed under behind the ear, under the skin.

3) Mixed hearing loss

This is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Long-term ear infections can damage both the eardrum as well as the ossicles. Sometimes, surgical intervention may restore hearing, but it does not always work.

The ear specialist specializes in providing a range of diagnostic and treatment options to people with hearing loss and other ear disorders, in particular those who may require a cochlear implant. They optimize ear health in children and adults in a holistic way consistent with international best practices. The ear specialist adopts evidence-based state-of-the-art best practices relating to the diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss in Singapore and other ear disorders.