When considering the words 'Hearing Loss', what do you think of? People that use their hands to talk with others or people that are difficult to communicate with? What do you do when you encounter a person with a hearing loss? Do you make an escape as quickly as possible or do you look past the 'disability' and get to know the person? Do you even know whether the person has a hearing loss? After all, hearing loss is considered to be a hidden disability. A hearing loss is what it's name describes… a partial or complete loss of hearing in one or both ears. Believe it or not, there are five types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss; Sensorineural hearing loss; Central hearing loss; Functional hearing loss; and Mixed hearing loss. Each of
these different types of hearing loss affects different parts of the hearing pathway… basically the outer ear that you see; the middle ear; the inner ear or the somewhere in the central nervous system.

Quick definitions… A conductive hearing loss is a hearing loss where the sound is not transmitted very well from the outer ear through the middle ear to the inner ear. The inner ear is healthy and can hear sounds just like a normal person if amplified enough. On the other hand, in sensorineural hearing losses, the inner ear is damaged. Sensorineural hearing losses can't hear sounds like a normal person even if the sounds are amplified enough.

With central hearing losses, the outer ear, the inner ear and the middle ear functions just like a normal person with no hearing loss. The problem with central hearing losses occurs in the central nervous system at some point within the brain. Some people with a central hearing loss can hear just like normal but have trouble interpreting or understanding. Similarly, in functional hearing losses, the ability to hearing is the same as a normal hearing person. The problem in functional hearing losses involves a psychological or emotional problem. People with this type of hearing loss physically have normal hearing but do not seem to hear or respond.

The last type of hearing loss is the mixed hearing loss. As its name implies, the mixed hearing loss is comprised of two or more types of hearing losses in the same ear… most commonly the conductive and sensorineural hearing losses. This is the type of hearing loss that I have… a mixed hearing loss.

There's really no condition like the hearing loss that can affect the quality of life in such a profound way. If you think about, the language of love, of friendship, of anger, or of any other emotion is commonly a verbal language. Hearing sounds but not understanding what is going on is the worst feeling in the world… Believe me, I know… in the world of the hearing, having a hearing loss is isolating… But more about that later…