Before you can treat hearing loss, you need to know what's causing it. This guide covers the types of hearing loss, related conditions, common symptoms to watch for and the treatment options available at ENT Carolina in the Piedmont region.

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Hearing Loss Doctors in Gastonia, Shelby & Belmont

At ENT Carolina, board-certified ENT physicians and licensed audiologists work together to find the cause of your hearing loss and the right treatment for it. Our team has been caring for families in the Piedmont region for over 35 years. Learn more about the professionals behind your ear and audiology care.

Types of Hearing Loss

At ENT Carolina, board-certified ENT physicians and licensed audiologists work together to find the cause of your hearing loss and the right treatment for it. Our team has been caring for families in the Piedmont region for over 35 years. Learn more about the professionals behind your ear and audiology care.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound waves cannot be transmitted properly to the inner ear. Think of it like a roadblock. The inner ear works fine, but something is preventing sound waves from getting there.

Causes of Conductive Hearing Loss

  • Earwax buildup: Impacted cerumen physically blocks the ear canal

  • Damaged eardrum: Perforations from injury or infection

  • Fluid behind the eardrum: Often from allergies, colds, or eustachian tube problems

  • Middle ear bone problems: The three tiny bones can become damaged or fixed (e.g. otosclerosis)

Conductive Hearing Loss Treatment

Conductive hearing loss is often fixable through in-office procedures or medical treatment. In some cases, ear surgery might be required (e.g. for a perforated eardrum).

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sensorineural hearing loss involves damage to the inner ear itself or to the auditory nerve that carries sound signals to the brain. The cochlea contains thousands of tiny hair cells that convert sound vibrations into electrical signals. Once these hair cells are damaged, they don't regenerate. This is the most common type of permanent hearing loss. 

Causes of Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sensorineural hearing loss is more likely to begin as you get older and gradually worsens. Age and genetics play a role, and over the course of your life, things like noise exposure and certain medications can also cause sensorineural hearing loss.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss Treatment

While sensorineural hearing loss typically cannot be reversed, it responds well to amplification with hearing aids or cochlear implants. In rare cases, the onset of sensorineural hearing loss can be sudden. If this happens, schedule an evaluation immediately for rapid intervention and treatment.

Mixed Hearing Loss

Mixed hearing loss combines elements of both conductive and sensorineural loss. Someone might have age-related inner ear damage along with a current ear infection, for example. Or chronic ear disease might have damaged both the middle ear structures and the inner ear over time.

Treatment addresses both components. The conductive portion often improves with medical treatment or surgery, while the sensorineural portion typically requires hearing aids or other amplification devices.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus refers to hearing sounds that have no external source. Most people describe ringing, but it can also sound like buzzing, hissing, clicking, or whooshing. The sound might be constant or come and go, loud or barely noticeable. Tinnitus is not a disease itself but rather a symptom of something else going on. It frequently accompanies hearing loss, though it can occur on its own.

 

Causes of Tinnitus

Noise damage, age-related changes, earwax blockage, and certain medications commonly trigger tinnitus. In some cases, tinnitus can point to serious ear conditions, circulatory problems, or other medical issues worth investigating.

Tinnitus Treatment

At ENT Carolina, we evaluate tinnitus thoroughly before recommending treatment. Ruling out treatable causes comes first. Then we work with you to find management strategies that fit your situation.

Hearing Loss Symptoms​

Hearing loss usually creeps up gradually, which makes it easy to miss. Most people don't wake up one morning unable to hear. Instead, they slowly adapt without realizing how much they're compensating. Family members often notice hearing loss before the person experiencing it does. If someone close to you has mentioned that you're not hearing well, it’s worth taking that observation seriously, and confirming possible hearing loss with a professional evaluation.

Common signs can include:

  • Voices sound unclear or slurred, even when they're loud enough

  • Voices with high pitches (usually women's and children's) are hard to make out

  • You lose the conversation once there's background noise

  • A constant or occasional ringing or buzzing with no outside source

  • People seem to trail off or mumble at the end of words

  • You need the TV or phone louder than everyone else does

  • Calls are harder to follow than talking in person

  • Straining to hear all day leaves you drained

  • You start to skip situations where hearing is hard

  • A blocked or plugged feeling in the ear

  • Sudden hearing loss in one ear (seek care right away if this happens)

Hearing Loss Treatment Options

Treatment varies based on the type, cause, and severity of hearing loss.

Hearing Aids and Assistive Listening Devices

Hearing aids are the most common treatment for sensorineural hearing loss. Modern devices are smaller and more powerful than a decade ago, and many connect wirelessly to smartphones and TVs.

For situations where hearing aids alone aren't enough, assistive listening devices can help:

  • Amplified telephones

  • TV listening systems

  • Personal FM systems for lectures or meetings

Medications for Hearing Loss

Medication plays a limited role in treating hearing loss, and only in specific situations:

  • Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (hearing drops rapidly over hours or days) is sometimes treated with corticosteroids to reduce inner ear inflammation. Treatment within the first couple of weeks offers the best chance of recovery.

  • Ear infections causing conductive hearing loss may require antibiotics or antifungal medication.

  • Autoimmune inner ear disease sometimes responds to immunosuppressive therapy.

No medication can restore hearing lost to aging or chronic noise damage. Be cautious of supplements or products that claim otherwise. They lack scientific support.

Hearing Loss Surgery

Surgery is an option for a specific set of conditions:

  • Chronic ear infections that have damaged the eardrum or middle ear bones can often be repaired. Tympanoplasty reconstructs the eardrum; ossiculoplasty repairs or replaces the middle ear bones.

  • Otosclerosis, where abnormal bone growth locks the stapes bone in place, is treated with a stapedectomy, which replaces the fixed bone with a small prosthesis. This surgery frequently restores hearing.

  • Tumors affecting the ear or auditory nerve, though uncommon, may require surgical removal.

Every case is different. Your ENT physician will evaluate whether surgery offers meaningful benefit for your specific condition.

Schedule a Hearing Loss Consultation at ENT Carolina

If you're noticing hearing difficulties, getting evaluated sooner rather than later makes sense. Untreated hearing loss tends to get worse over time. Seeing a doctor as soon as you notice symptoms can make a big difference in outcomes and quality of life.

At ENT Carolina, our team of board-certified ENT physicians, specialists, and audiologists provides complete hearing care for patients of all ages. With locations in Gastonia, Shelby, and Belmont, you don't have to travel far for expert care. Schedule an appointment today.