Degrees of Hearing Loss | What Causes Hearing Loss?

2020-07-03

Everyone perceives hearing loss differently. Both the cause and the degree can vary. While aging is a common explanation for experiencing a certain degree of hearing loss, there are other possible causes of losing your hearing. Medical complications and prolonged exposure to loud noise can all be potential root causes.

It isn’t uncommon for people with hearing difficulties to turn away from friends and family and become isolated. Loss of hearing means that you are no longer able to carry conversations and interact with your loved ones the same way you did in the past. This can be extremely frustrating.
The most common causes are:

1. Aging
2. Prolonged exposure to loud noises
3. Diseases such as meningitis
4. Hereditary factors
5. Certain medications
6. Levels of Hearing Loss

The term, degrees of hearing loss, refers to the various levels of the damage. Your hearing loss may be completely different in severity than someone else’s and falls into one of four categories:

1. Mild
2. Moderate
3. Severe
4. Profound

Audiologists measure the intensity of a sound and the degree of hearing loss in decibels (dB). What that means is, if you have a hearing loss of 40 dB, you are unable to hear sounds below 40 dB.

When a certain measurement borders two distinct categories, it is referred to it as a combination of the two. Your hearing is considered normal if it can detect sounds between 20-25 decibels.

If you or someone you know are showing signs of hearing loss, be sure to see a hearing care professional and get a hearing test done. Only a trained professional can make an assessment, interpret your hearing test results and recommend the best solution.