Sensorineural deafness

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Ear anatomy

Sensorineural deafness is hearing loss that occurs from damage to the inner ear, the nerve that runs from the ear to the brain (auditory nerve), or the brain.

Nerve deafness; Hearing loss - sensorineural; Acquired hearing loss; SNHL; Noise-induced hearing loss; NIHL

Symptoms may include:

• Certain sounds seem too loud
• Difficulty following conversations when two or more people are talking
• Difficulty hearing in noisy areas
• Easier to hear men's voices than women's voices
• Hard to tell high-pitched sounds (such as "s" or "th") from one another
• Other people's voices sound mumbled or slurred
• Problems hearing when there is background noise

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Other symptoms include:

• Feeling of being off-balance or dizzy (more common with Meniere's disease and acoustic neuromas)
• Ringing or buzzing sound in the ears (tinnitus)

The inner part of the ear contains tiny hair cells (nerve endings), which change sounds into electric signals. The nerves then carry these signals to the brain.

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is caused by damage to these special cells, or to the nerve fibers in the inner ear. Sometimes, the hearing loss is caused by damage to the nerve that carries the signals to the brain.

Sensorineural deafness can be present at birth (congenital), most often due to:

• Genetic syndromes
• Infections that the mother passes to her baby in the womb (toxoplasmosis, rubella, herpes)

Sensorineural hearing loss may develop in children or adults later in life (acquired) as a result of:

• Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)
• Disease of the blood vessels
• Immune disease
• Infections, such as meningitis, mumps, scarlet fever, and measles
• Injury
• Loud noises or sounds, or loud sounds that last for a long time
• Meniere's disease
• Tumor, such as acoustic neuroma
• Use of certain medicines
• Working around loud noises everyday

In some cases, the cause is unknown.

Review Date: 05/31/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies; University of Washington School of Medicine; and Seth Schwartz, MD, MPH, Otolaryngologist, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).