5: Management of Conductive and/or Mixed Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can be classified as sensorineural, conductive, or mixed. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is associated with a dysfunction of the inner ear, auditory nerve, or central hearing pathway. Conductive hearing loss (CHL) is usually due to outer or middle ear involvement hampering the conduction of sound energy from its source to the inner ear. Mixed hearing loss (MHL) is a combination of CHL and SNHL. Proper characterization of the type of hearing loss is the first step to better identify its underlying cause. A lot of causes, congenital or acquired, can be responsible of conductive or MHL. Depending on the cause and the degree of hearing loss, CHL or MHL can be addressed by medical therapy, surgical procedure or conventional or implanted hearing aids.