Conductive hearing loss

  • Damage has been caused in the outer and middle ear.
  • It can be medically or surgically treated.
  • Hearing aids are of great benefit.

Sensorineural hearing loss

  • Damage has been caused to the hair cells in the inner ear resulting in mild to profound hearing impairment.
  • It cannot be medically or surgically treated.
  • Benefit from hearing aids may be limited in certain instances.

Conductive hearing loss

  • Damage has been caused in the outer and middle ear.
  • It can be medically or surgically treated.
  • Hearing aids are of great benefit.

Neural hearing loss

  • Neural hearing loss can result from the absence of the auditory nerve or damage to it.
  • Neural hearing loss is usually profound and permanent.
  • Hearing aids and cochlear implants cannot help because the nerve is not able to pass on sound information to the brain.

Other classifications of hearing

Bilateral hearing loss

  • Bilateral hearing loss occurs in both ears.
  • Hearing aids are needed in both ears.

 

Unilateral hearing loss

  • Unilateral loss occurs only in one ear.
  • Persons with such a loss have problems with localizing sound.

 

Pre-lingual hearing loss

  • Hearing impairment occurs before a child has learnt to talk.
  • Critical implications for speech and language development.

 

Post-lingual hearing loss

  • Hearing impairment occurs after a person has acquired language.
  • Implications for the education of the hearing impaired child depend on the age of onset, degree of loss, level of support and personal factors.

 

Symmetrical hearing loss

  • If a person has the same degree and type of hearing loss and configuration in each ear, the hearing loss is symmetrical.

Asymmetrical hearing loss

  • If the degree and type of hearing loss and configuration vary or are different in each ear, the loss is classified as asymmetrical.