Hearing Loss

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 Hearing impairment, also known as hearing loss, refers to a partial or total inability to hear sounds in one or both ears. It can affect people of all ages and may be temporary or permanent. The condition varies in severity and is generally classified into four main types:

1. Mild Hearing Loss: Difficulty hearing soft sounds or understanding speech in noisy environments.
    
2. Moderate Hearing Loss: Frequently needing to ask people to repeat themselves; hearing aids often help.
    
3. Severe Hearing Loss: Can only hear loud sounds; communication without amplification is difficult.
    
4. Profound Hearing Loss (Deafness): Very limited or no hearing ability; often relies on lip-reading or sign language.

Tinnitus affects approximately 17 to 20% of Australians. If you've noticed a ringing in your ears or a change in your hearing, reach out to our friendly team about what you can do next. 

 Sudden deafness, also known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), is an unexpected, rapid loss of hearing—typically in one ear—that occurs over a period of up to 72 hours. In many cases, it happens instantly or within a few hours, and can feel like the ear has "shut off."

• Rapid onset: Hearing loss occurs suddenly or over a short time (less than 3 days).
• Sensorineural origin: The problem lies in the inner ear or the auditory nerve, not the outer or middle ear.
• Often unilateral: It usually affects one ear only.
• May be accompanied by: Tinnitus (ringing in the ear), dizziness or vertigo, and a feeling of fullness in the ear.

Hearing loss is a sudden or gradual decrease in how well you can hear. It is one of the most common conditions affecting older and elderly adults. Approximately one in three people between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss and nearly half of those older than 75 have difficulty hearing. 

 Diplacusis comes from the Greek words “diplous” and “akousis”, meaning double hearing. It causes the sufferer to perceive a dissonance in the pitch or timing of a sound from one ear to the other.

Diplacusis is generally a symptom of sensorineural hearing loss, and there are different types of the condition:

• Diplacusis binauralis is the most common type and occurs when a person hears the same sound differently in each ear.  A related sub-set of this condition is diplacusis dysharmonica, which is when a sound is heard correctly in one ear, but at a different pitch in the other. These two types of diplacusis are also sometimes known as ‘interaural pitch difference’.
• Diplacusis echoica is an impairment in which the sufferer hears a sound repeated or echoed in the affected ear.
• Diplacusis monauralis is when a single sound is heard as two distinct sounds in the same ear.

Do loud noises ever hurt your ears? From televisions and construction work, to heavy traffic and a restaurant full of people talking. The world is a noisy place.

While hearing loss can be part of the aging process, studies have shown that exposure to as few as 90 decibels can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss. But how loud is too loud? This application will give you an idea of how everyday situations such as meeting with friends in a café or going to a rock concert can affect your hearing.

Do loud noises ever hurt your ears? From televisions and construction work, to heavy traffic and a restaurant full of people talking. The world is a noisy place.

While hearing loss can be part of the aging process, studies have shown that exposure to as few as 90 decibels can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss. But how loud is too loud? This application will give you an idea of how everyday situations such as meeting with friends in a café or going to a rock concert can affect your hearing.