About Hearing Loss   

Hearing loss affects around two out of 10 adults in the US. Most of these people are over the age of 60 and have lost their hearing gradually (presbyacusis), but hearing loss can occur at a younger age. In the US, one in every 840 children is born severely or profoundly deaf each year.

Sound and the ear

Sound reaches your ear as sound waves, which cause vibrations that the ear turns into electrical signals. These signals travel to the brain where they are converted into meaningful information, such as language or music.

The outer, middle and inner ear

The ear consists of three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear.

The outer ear is the visible part of your ear. It collects sound, which then travels down your ear canal (external auditory meatus) to your eardrum (tympanic membrane).

The sound waves cause your eardrum to vibrate. This vibration is passed on to the middle ear, which consists of three small bones called the 'ossicles'. These amplify and conduct the vibrations to the inner ear.

The inner ear contains the cochlea, which is shaped like a snail shell. The cochlea is full of fluid and contains tiny hair cells. The ossicles transmit the vibrations to the fluid inside the cochlea, causing the hair cells to move. The movement of the hair cells produces an electrical signal that travels along the auditory nerve to your brain. Different types of hair cell pick up different frequencies (pitches) of sound.

What Causes hearing loss?

Exposure to excessive loud noise

Ear infections, trauma, or ear disease

Harm to the inner ear and ear drum from contact with a foreign object (cotton swabs, fingers, bugs)

illness or certain medications

Deteriorating hearing due to the normal aging process

Sonus Hearing Care Professionals

118 E. OakRidge Dr.

Hagerstown MD 21740

301.790.0586