Causes of permanent hearing loss can be congenital or develop after birth. Being born with permanent hearing loss is much less common than acquiring permanent hearing loss during the persons lifetime.
Congenital deafness can be caused by hereditary, genetics, or a deformity of the ear. Damage to the ear or auditory nerve after birth can cause permanent hearing loss.
Congenital causes of permanent hearing loss can by genetic disorders that cause several symptoms including hearing loss. These syndromes are caused by genetic mutations.
Deafness can be caused by normal hereditary. If the parents have hereditary hearing loss, they can pass the hearing loss onto their children. People with hereditary deafness have a greater chance of having children with hearing loss than the rest of the population.
Middle ear infections do not usually cause permanent hearing loss, but a severe or recurrent ear infection can cause permanent hearing loss. An ear infection that is recurrent or left untreated can cause permanent damage to the eardrum or structures of the middle ear.
Noise exposure is one of the most common causes of permanent hearing loss. Normal noise exposure throughout a persons lifetime can cause gradual hearing loss that can start as early as the persons late adolescence or young adulthood.
High levels of noise can damage the hair-like projections of the cochlea. Some occupations put workers at high risk of hearing loss by having a noisy work environment.
The structures of the ear and the auditory nerve can be damaged by trauma. A traumatic injury that damages the ear can cause permanent hearing loss. One such injury that can cause hearing loss is a fracture of the temporal bone.
Presbycusis is permanent hearing loss associated with aging. The gradual hearing loss due to aging is thought to be caused by changes in the ear structures due to lifetime noise exposure. Sudden deafness is the sudden onset of hearing loss for which the reason is rarely identified. The sudden deafness may be permanent.
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