What causes sensorineural hearing loss?

Occurring when the tiny hair cells in the inner ear are damaged or when the hearing pathways to the auditory cortex become damaged, sensorineural hearing loss is the most common form of hearing loss.

Sensorineural hearing loss can be caused by a variety of conditions, but it is most commonly caused by the natural ageing process, which accounts for around 90% of this type of hearing loss. It affects 1 in 7 over the age of 65. Changes in your hearing as you get older are normal, but if you’re concerned about your hearing, help and support from your local Amplifon clinic is never too far away. We offer a variety of different hearing aid solutions that can help make hearing the things around you just a bit clearer.

Some of the common causes of the condition include:

• Age – resulting in gradual deterioration across both ears, especially with high pitch sounds
• Traumatic exposure to loud noise – a sudden, very loud sound or repeated exposure to high level sound. The effects may be permanent or temporary
• Head injury – may cause trauma to the cochlea and nerves in the ear
• Viral infections of the inner ear and auditory nerve
• Some drug treatments
• Family history
• Industrial noise exposure
• Ménière's disease