Hearing Loss

Hearing loss, impairment or deafness may be of two major types: one that develops some time in life, one that a baby is born with – or congenital deafness. Most commonly, hearing loss is seen with age or is caused by exposure to loud noises.

What is hearing loss?

More than 10 million people in the United Kingdom have some form of hearing loss. Of these about 688,000 are severely or profoundly deaf.

Types of Hearing Loss

Causes of Hearing Loss

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Hearing Loss

Treatment of hearing loss

Preventing Noise-induced Hearing Loss

Age-Related Hearing Loss (ARHL) / Presbycusis

Hearing Loss Research

Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL)

Conductive Hearing Loss

Newborn Hearing Screening

Dealing with Hearing Loss

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Hearing Loss and Genetics

Latest Hearing Loss News and Research

Cochlear implantation provides benefits for deaf children with autism spectrum disorder

Restoring hearing through cochlear implantation for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can help them understand spoken language and enhance social interactions, according to a study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

23 Dec 2021

Pandemic poses short- and long-term risks to babies, especially boys

The pandemic has created a hostile environment for pregnant people and their babies. Stress levels among expectant mothers have soared. Pregnant women with covid are five times as likely as uninfected pregnant people to require intensive care and 22 times as likely to die. Infected moms are four times as likely to have a stillborn child.

21 Dec 2021

First-of-its-kind gene therapy technique reverses severe hearing loss in mice

Hearing loss has been linked to mutations in at least 100 different genes, but up to 16 percent of genetic hearing loss can be traced to just one gene, STRC, the second most common genetic cause.

15 Dec 2021

Cochlear implant recipients develop new bone formation that leads to long-term residual hearing loss

The majority of cochlear implant recipients develop new bone formation that adversely affects long-term hearing preservation, according to a study appearing in Radiology.

7 Dec 2021

Study documents and visualizes hearing loss-associated genes in the inner ear

Researchers from Uppsala University have been able to document and visualise hearing loss-associated genes in the human inner ear, in a unique collaboration study between otosurgeons and geneticists.

2 Dec 2021

Pandemic lockdown created mental and emotional issues for older adults with sensory impairment

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many assisted living and senior center facilities were forced to close their doors to outside visitors to limit potential exposure to the virus.

1 Dec 2021

Scientists identify new genes associated with familial Meniere's disease

A team of scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) and GENYO (Pfizer-University of Granada-Andalusian Government Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research—led by Pablo Roman-Naranjo and Jose Antonio López-Escámez, researcher in charge of the Biohealth Research Institute in Granada (ibs.GRANADA)—has identified new genes associated with familial Meniere's disease.

1 Dec 2021

Study: Black older Americans have much better hearing than their White counterparts

Black Americans 65 years and older have much better hearing than their White counterparts, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

24 Nov 2021

Deaf and hard-of-hearing scientists support equity and inclusion in professional societies

Providing some basic standards of support will greatly increase diversity in fields of science and medicine, a group of hard of hearing and deaf scientists argue in a perspective published in the journal Frontiers in Education.

20 Nov 2021

New imaging software can accurately diagnose jaundice in the blink of an eye

Imagine a system that can detect within one second whether a newborn baby has jaundice, a condition affecting 60 per cent of infants, and in severe cases leading to brain damage and hearing loss.

17 Nov 2021

Study links noise-induced inner ear nerve damage to endolymphatic hydrops

Exposure to loud noise, such as a firecracker or an ear-splitting concert, is the most common preventable cause of hearing loss. Research suggests that 12% or more of the world population is at risk for noise-induced loss of hearing.

11 Nov 2021

Microbiome discovery could help fight chronic middle ear infections in children

Bacteria found in children's upper respiratory systems could help fight chronic middle ear infections, the leading cause of preventable hearing loss and deafness in Indigenous communities.

8 Nov 2021

Democrats plan to expand Medicare hearing benefits. What can consumers expect?

President Joe Biden's mammoth domestic spending bill would add hearing benefits to the traditional Medicare program — one of three major new benefits Democrats had sought.

5 Nov 2021

New evidence that SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect the inner ear

Many Covid-19 patients have reported symptoms affecting the ears, including hearing loss and tinnitus. Dizziness and balance problems can also occur, suggesting that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be able to infect the inner ear.

29 Oct 2021

Review underscores the need to increase support for older subsidized housing residents with dementia

A recent scoping review, published online in the Journal of Aging and Environment, found that older adults with dementia or cognitive impairment who live in subsidized housing face complex challenges that, left unaddressed, threaten to exacerbate their health and ability to age in place.

6 Oct 2021

Researchers identify mechanism that can lead to deafness in rare Norrie disease

A team of Mass Eye and Ear Scientists led by Albert Edge, PhD, working with research fellow Yushi Hayashi, MD, PhD, has identified the mechanism that can lead to deafness in the rare syndrome, Norrie disease.

5 Oct 2021

COVID-19 survivors under 40 more likely to recover from smell and taste loss, study finds

Sense of smell or taste returns within six months for 4 out of every 5 COVID-19 survivors who have lost these senses, and those under 40 are more likely to recover these senses than older adults, an ongoing Virginia Commonwealth University study found.

5 Oct 2021

Bone Conduction Kit may enable children and their parents to manage glue ear effectively at home

A wireless kit, comprising headphones, a microphone, and an app might be a cheap alternative to the usual treatment of the common temporary hearing loss in kids, popularly known as 'glue ear,' finds a small study, published in the online journal BMJ Innovations.

5 Oct 2021

Understanding noise-related hearing loss through changes in RNA levels

A growing number of people are suffering from hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises from heavy machinery, concerts, or explosions.

29 Sep 2021

Alzheimer’s drug targets people with mild cognitive impairment. What does that mean?

The approval of a controversial new drug for Alzheimer's disease, Aduhelm, is shining a spotlight on mild cognitive impairment — problems with memory, attention, language or other cognitive tasks that exceed changes expected with normal aging.

29 Sep 2021