Mixed hearing loss refers to a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss in one or both ears. This means there is damage to both the outer or middle ear (conductive) and the inner ear or auditory nerve (sensorineural). It can result in difficulty hearing both loud sounds, such as fireworks and police sirens, as well as soft sounds, such as whispering and leaves rustling.
Mixed hearing loss often requires a combination of medical and hearing aid treatment.
The illustration below indicates which parts of the ear may be affected when dealing with conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. A combination of the two would indicate a mixed hearing loss.
Pinpointing the cause of mixed hearing loss can be tricky. After all, you’re dealing with two types of hearing loss and, as a result, multiple causes.
Causes of the conductive hearing loss can include blockages, such as earwax build-up or foreign objects, benign tumors, infections or fluid build-up in the middle ear. Common causes of sensorineural hearing loss include loud noise, damage to the hair cells in the inner ear, age, genetics, head trauma, and ototoxic medications.
If you are living with mixed hearing loss, you’ll likely have trouble hearing everyday sounds, especially quieter ones. You may experience this in one or both ears.
Since mixed hearing loss is a combination of two issues, you may also experience several of the following symptoms as well:
Since mixed hearing loss is the result of both a sensorineural and conductive hearing loss, both of these will be present on an audiogram.
To determine this, the air conduction threshold and bone conduction threshold need to be tested. If a hearing loss is indicated through bone conduction and an air-bone gap (a space between the air and bone conduction threshold) is also present, the audiogram indicates a mixed hearing loss.
The audiogram below demonstrates what a mixed hearing loss may look like. The red line with the O shows the right ear and the blue one with the X shows the left ear. The < > symbols indicate the bone conduction threshold.
Mixed hearing loss calls for mixed treatment. The causes of your conductive hearing loss may be treatable through medical or surgical intervention, while your sensorineural hearing loss can often be treated with hearing aids. And, with the extreme advances in technology today, treatment is just around the corner.
Take the first step to healthy hearing by having your hearing checked by one of our Hearing Care Professionals for free.