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Understand hearing

In Quebec 81,5 % of the costs of the RAMQ hearing loss program are incured by people aged 55 and older, and 68 % by people over 65. Hearing difficulties are more prevalent in children than one would think. Deafness affects 1 to 3 infants out of 1,000 births. 11,5 % of children younger than 15 have hearing difficulties, and 21 % of them wear a hearing aid. Hearing loss also occurs in the workplace. Every year, 500,000 workers are exposed to excessive daily noise. About 1,000 of them are affected by occupational hearing loss and receive compensation including hearing aids from the CNESST.

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Hear Outer

Hear Middle

Hear Inner
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HEARING LOSS

HEARING DIFFICULTIES

Multiple factors can cause hearing loss, but all hearing loss can fit into one of these two categories.

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HEARING DIFFICULTIES
SENSONEURINAL HEARING LOSS

Sensoneurinal hearing loss happens when there is damage to the inner ear or to the nerves that travel from the ear to the brain. Sensoneurinal hearing loss is permanent and can make even loud noises sound muffled. Most often, it is caused by ear cell fatigue. The ear cells that move in liquid inside the cochlea can get damaged to the point of not working at all. You could imagine a piano to which you remove keys. Aging is the most common cause of sensoneurinal hearing loss, and often comes with tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

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HEARING DIFFICULTIES
CONDUCTIVE HEARING LOSS

Conductive hearing loss happens when sound doesn’t travel efficiently from the outer ear and into the eardrum and bones of the middle ear (ossicles). It might be caused by ear wax blocking sound from passing through the ear canal, or by otitis media wich makes the ossicles stuck in thick mucus and prevents them from moving freely and transmitting vibration to the cochlea.

In both types of hearing loss, a screening test may help you identify hearing loss. Hearing aids can help amplify sounds and give your brain the help it needs to process the information they convey.