Hearing loss can be identified at birth by what has come to be known as the UNHS process.  This is not automatically done in Ireland.  However, since September 2008, DeafHear has introduced screening for infants up to six weeks old.  Please click here to visit the Deafhear.ie website.

This section focuses on the medical aspects of hearing loss.

Like most of the human body the hearing process is very complicated.

There are essentially 5 stages in the hearing process.

1. Outer ear (lobe and ear canal)
2. Middle ear (ear drum & ossicle bones)

3. Inner ear (cochlea)

5. Processing of sound in the brain. Sometimes the phrase Central deafness is used)

Problems at any stage of the process will cause hearing loss.  There are two big categories of hearing loss (Conductive and Sensorineural), with greater or lesser possibilities of correction and issues facing the person with the loss.  The effect of a similar hearing loss can be markedly different on people in terms of volume loss, quality loss, tinnitus, balance, vertigo, etc

A Hearing Loss can come about suddenly, most likely because of an accident or illness, but more normally comes slowly over a period of time.

A sudden loss is very traumatic.  The need to consult with your doctor, get hearing tests done and progress through the Investigative process tends to happen naturally, just like the treatment of any Illness.

A slow loss of hearing, possibly caused by exposure to loud noise over an extended period of time, or indeed related to the ageing process, is more difficult to spot.

It is easy to feel the room is too noisy, people are mumbling or have strange accents or you just feel you are tired.  Indeed it is possible not to notice you are hearing less well than before and, worst of all, many of us are prepared to put up with a little inconvenience for many years until we are forced to deal with the issue because it is beginning to have a big impact.

The following are a list of things that give early warning of a possible loss.

• Do you have difficulty understanding what is being said in noisy places, such as pubs or restaurants, even though other people manage to have conversations?
• When you are talking to people in a group, is it hard to keep up with the conversation?  Do you perhaps say your piece at the wrong time?
• Do you often feel excluded from group conversations?
• Do you find it tiring to listen to conversations because you have to concentrate hard?
• Do you often have difficulty hearing on the telephone?
• Do you find radio difficult to follow?
• Do other people think your television is too loud but you cannot hear it properly if they turn it down?
• Can you hear music but not follow the words clearly?
• Do other people seem to mumble rather than speak clearly to you?
• Do people often have to repeat things for you before you understand what they say?

Any of the above may indicate some degree of hearing loss and is best checked out.  In the first instance visit your doctor.  He/she will know about your general health and have a reasonable knowledge of both hearing loss and the medical system for investigation.  Dealing with hearing loss is not a DIY job, you need help.

If you think you are being foolish, RNID provide an anonymous self test, both online (click here) or by telephone(0044 844 800 3838 – note this is a UK number).  It may help to build up confidence to visit your doctor.  There is also an excellent online facility at betterhearing.

Your doctor may well determine what the problem is (in case of conductive loss), may in some cases be able to help you or, more often, refer you to an audiology department in a hospital, or private audiologist or ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) specialist, if you prefer.

The purpose of initial audiology testing is to establish some facts, to document the extent and nature of your hearing loss.

• Listening to you describing the impact of the loss on your life
• Asking you questions
• Examining your ears for blockages or infection
• Checking the pressure in your middle ear
• Doing a hearing test on what you can hear or feel. A typical audiogram of a moderate hearing loss might look like this

• Doing a speech discrimination test will assess how well you are processing the sound that you hear.