Sensorineural hearing loss

Sensorineural hearing loss is reduced hearing caused by damage or dysfunction of the cochlea, auditory nerve, or central auditory pathways. It often impairs speech clarity as well as sound detection.

Cochlea: The spiral-shaped inner-ear organ that converts sound vibrations into electrical signals. Its sensory structures are the most common site of sensorineural damage.
Presbycusis: Age-related hearing loss, usually involving gradual, bilateral decline in high-frequency hearing. It is a common progressive form of sensorineural hearing loss.
Pure-tone audiometry: A hearing test that measures the quietest tones a person can detect at different frequencies. It identifies hearing thresholds and helps classify the degree and pattern of loss.
Conductive hearing loss: Reduced hearing caused by impaired sound transmission through the outer or middle ear. It affects sound conduction rather than the inner ear or auditory neural pathways.
Hair cell: A sensory cell that converts mechanical movement into electrical signals in the inner ear. Damage to cochlear hair cells is a leading cause of permanent hearing loss.
Noise-induced hearing loss: Hearing loss caused by exposure to harmful sound levels, either suddenly or over time. Excessive sound can permanently injure cochlear sensory cells.
Otoacoustic emissions: Low-level sounds produced by the cochlea that can be measured in the ear canal. Their presence or absence helps assess outer hair-cell function.
Mixed hearing loss: Hearing loss with both conductive and sensorineural components. It combines inner-ear or neural impairment with an outer- or middle-ear problem.
Auditory nerve: The nerve pathway that carries sound-related signals from the cochlea toward the brain. Nerve dysfunction can reduce hearing even when cochlear structures are intact.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss: Rapid hearing loss, typically in one ear, developing over a short period and requiring urgent assessment. Its abrupt onset distinguishes it from the usual gradual course.

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