Introduction
This section explains how to protect your hearing and what to do if you think you're starting to have problems.
Noise-induced hearing loss
Noise damage to hearing can be divided into two types: gradual and increasing loss of hearing, and the more extreme acoustic trauma.
Why early action for a hearing loss is important
It is estimated that three quarters of adults with a hearing loss never obtain a hearing aid and those who eventually do put up with declining hearing for approximately 15 years before seeking help. In the UK, some four million people would benefit from getting a hearing aid.
Otosclerosis
The term otosclerosis refers to a hardening of the bone surrounding the stapes, one of the three ossicles.
Age-related hearing loss
Gradual deterioration of the ear means that for most people, deafness is an unwelcome feature of later life.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Sensorineural hearing loss may be either sensory (affecting the sense organ of hearing in the cochlea) or neural (affecting the nervous pathways which connect the cochlea to the hearing centres in the brain).
