All About Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is the inability to perceive or interpret sound.

Hearing loss ranges from difficulty hearing soft sounds or understanding speech to complete deafness. Hearing loss is not like listening to sounds with the volume turned down. Instead, there are usually certain sounds or tones that are more difficult to hear than others.

Everyone experiences some degree of hearing loss since it is a natural part of aging. Between the ages of 30 to 40, the hair cells in the inner ear begin to die. The process is very different for everyone, but for approximately one in 10 people, the hearing loss eventually reaches a point where a hearing aid is required. This section on hearing loss contains valuable information on how we hear, the causes and effects of hearing loss, and how hearing loss can be treated.