Symptoms/ possible causes for hearing loss

I also heard that smoking could possibly be a factor in hearing loss.

Ear wax can develop hearing loss. A build up of excess wax might cause an infection in the ear and could result in a hearing impairment. There are several things that can cause or contribute to the cause of hearing loss. It is always advised to contact a doctor once you experience tinnitus and other related ear pains.

Well, what are the exact symptoms of hearing loss and when is bad too bad?

There are several symptoms regarding hearing loss but the following are symptoms you might not notice but need to be noticed!!!

* Fatigue and stress
* Reading lips to understand conversations.
* Cannot hear environmental sounds or background noise.
* Social withdrawal
* Turning up the volume on the TV

Another symptom that could be the most noticed is ringing or roaring in the ear. Another interesting symptom is the sounds of "s" and "th" in words become indistinguishable.

Not many people think hearing loss and dizziness are linked but they very much are! The ear controls both hearing and balance. There are two fluids in the ear called endolymph and perilymph. If there is a disrupt of these fluids, your balance is altered and dizziness occurs. That is why when you experience dizziness, physicians might do perform a hearing test and vice versa.

Excessive ear infections can result in hearing loss. Specifically called cholesteatoma. Cholesteatoma is a sac that forms in the skin of the ear drum. This damages the ear drum and the bones in the middle that causes the loss. In addition, hearing loss symptoms can include ear drainage or discharge of some sort. Feeling of pressure in the ear. In severe cases, a cholesteatoma can cause headaches, fatigue and dizziness.

Cholesteatoma sounds like the work cholesterol and I just read an article on how cholesterol might be a risk factor for hearing loss. They still have not proved it to be a risk factor for humans; however, they did see a strong correlation between hearing loss and cholesterol in animals in which they did experience hearing loss with too low amounts of cholesterol and too high.

Protocadherin-15 is a protien that could potentially be a cause of hearing loss and even blindness. This protein causes a syndrome called type 1 usher which is the most common cause of deafness and blindness. Further research is being done.

Sickle Cell disease is a cause of hearing loss to some as well. About 20% to 25% who have sickle cell disease experience hearing loss; however, some hearing does come back in some cases with those who have the disease.

Cotton swabs could be a HUGE contribution to ear infections leading to hearing loss. Earwax developes in the outer third of your ear canal where it protects your ear. The cotton swab can be pushed into the passage and though some earwax will end up on the swab some goes deeper into the canal which can be dangerous.

An efficient way to cleaning your ears is to get a wet handkerchief and clean it with your finger. You won't be able to get the wax that is deep but it is better than pushing wax deeper into the canal.

I had chemo done about a decade ago and I am convinced that is the reason for some of my hearing loss and Tinnitus. I have really had a hard time with it. Sometimes it gets so loud I feel like I am going crazy. I have tried meds and I've talked to doctors but they say just try and live with it. I have been trying but it is hard.

The ringing is due to the sounds in your head to put it lightly. Some tinnitus or head noise is normal. For example, sounds in a sound booth are limited due to the eliminations of outside noises and we are aware of our head noises which could be the ringing. We aren't aware of our head noises because the outside noises overwhelmes these sounds. When a foreign object or a buildup of earwax is in the ear, the outside noises are blocked and we are more aware of our own head sounds.

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Hearing loss has so many causes it would be impossible to list them all here. In some cases, hearing loss is just one of the effects of a condition such as a syndrome. Some causes of hearing loss are genetic.