What is nerve deafness?
Nerve deafness involves the loss of the tiny sensory hair cells and nerve endings in the inner ear organ for hearing known as the cochlea. It is the most common form of deafness and the most difficult to treat. The other, less common type of hearing loss is known as conductive hearing loss. It is caused by a problem with the ear canal, ear drum or tiny bones of hearing, and is often treated with surgery. Q: Does it affect people of all ages or does it develop later in life? A: Nerve deafness affects people of all ages. Three of 1,000 babies born in Oklahoma have significant nerve deafness, and workplace noise places 30 million workers in the U.S. at risk for noise-induced deafness. One of three of our senior citizens older than 65 and 50 percent of our seniors older than 75 have some degree of nerve deafness. The economic impact on the U.S. is about $56 billion annually. Q: What causes nerve deafness? A: In adults, the aging process, loud noise exposure and hereditary genetic problems
