Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is the fastest growing, and one of the most prevalent, chronic conditions facing Canadians today. Overexposure to noise is the most common preventable cause of hearing loss and is one that is within our ability to control. 

Hearing loss occurs when there is blockage or disruption in the path of sound from the outer ear to the brain. Hearing loss usually occurs at a slow rate, over years and often the person with the hearing loss is the last one to know there is a problem. People with hearing loss will often withdraw from social situations. Many clients will report that they nod and smile during a conversation, even though they are unsure of what is being said!

The ear directs sound waves down the auditory canal to the eardrum, causing it to vibrate very slightly. Your middle ear has three of the smallest bones in our body called the ossicles: the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) and stirrup (stapes).  They work together to amplify the vibrations, which are then passed along to a smaller vibrating membrane on the surface of the cochlea of the inner ear.  The mechanical energy of the sound, now translated to a physical vibration, creates compression waves within the fluid-filled spiral tube of the cochlea, which in turn move the tiny hair cells lining the inside of the cochlea.  As the hairs move, nerve cells at their base change this motion into electrical signals that are passed along the auditory nerve to the central auditory processing centres of the brain, where the signals are interpreted as recognizable sound.