Hearing loss

For a lay person:

Hearing loss is a reduced ability to hear sounds in one or both ears, ranging from mild to complete deafness. It can be present from birth or develop with age, noise exposure, ear infections, earwax or other causes, and it can affect communication, work and wellbeing.

For a trained medical person:

Classified as conductive (external or middle ear, such as cerumen, effusion or otosclerosis), sensorineural (cochlear or retrocochlear, such as presbycusis, noise damage, ototoxic drugs or vestibular schwannoma) or mixed. Assessment includes otoscopy, tuning-fork tests and pure-tone audiometry, with MRI for asymmetric sensorineural loss. Management depends on cause: treating ear disease, hearing aids, cochlear implants, and urgent corticosteroids for sudden sensorineural loss.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook gives Chinese herbal formulas for this condition without a full pattern differentiation. Treatment still follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Sudden hearing loss in one ear is an emergency; see a doctor the same day, as treatment works best within days. Also seek care for hearing loss with ear pain, discharge, dizziness or weakness of the face.