Causes of hearing loss

Many people associate hearing loss with ageing, and although ageing is by far the most common cause, there are many other causes of hearing impairment.

Hearing loss may be congenital and be caused by factors such as illness during pregnancy and complications during birth. For these types of hearing loss, hearing aids may often be a help.

Other types of hearing loss are hereditary and genetically determined. These types may progress gradually and require more powerful hearing aids.

Age-induced hearing loss Age-induced hearing loss is the most common form of hearing impairment. Age-induced hearing loss is caused by the gradual degeneration of hair cells in the inner ear, which is a common part of the ageing process. Acoustic trauma A very loud, brief sound, such as an explosion or a gunshot, can cause permanent hearing loss. Long-term exposure to noise or loud sound can also lead to permanent hearing loss.		Protect your hearing Some types of noise can damage your hearing. It is important to know how to best protect one’s hearing. Did you know.. More than 1/3 of all 65-year-old people have a hearing loss. More than 50% of those with hearing loss are working. There are 500 million hearing impaired people worldwide. This number is expected to go up by 16% until the year 2005, due to our exposure to an increasing amount of noise from our surroundings.