Home > Encyclopedia of Children's Health > Hearing Impairment

Definition

Hearing impairment is the temporary or permanent loss of some or all hearing in one or both ears.

Description

There are three types of hearing impairment that occur in young children:

• conductive hearing loss, a usually temporary interference with the reception of sound from the outer ear to the middle or inner ear
• sensorineural hearing impairment, a permanent abnormality of the cochlear hair cells of the inner ear, the auditory nerve, or the auditory center of the brain
• mixed hearing impairment, a combination of conductive and sensorineural impairments

Hearing impairments also are classified as prelingual (occurring before a child learns to speak) and post-lingual (occurring after the child has acquired language).

Normal hearing...