Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound cannot get from the outer or middle ear to the cochlea, the organ inside the inner ear that allows your child to hear. This can happen for many reasons, from a build-up of earwax, to fluid in the middle ear space,  to a hole in the eardrum. The hearing loss can range in severity and your ear, nose and throat provider at Connecticut Children’s can diagnose and treat the problem.  

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What are the signs and symptoms of conductive hearing loss?

Some common symptoms of conductive hearing loss include:

  • Hearing that seems muffled
  • Feeling of fullness or stuffiness in the ear
  • Draining of the ear
  • Pain in the ear
  • Dizziness

What causes conductive hearing loss?

Conductive hearing loss occurs when sounds don’t get through to the inner ear. This can have many different causes:

  • Foreign object in the ear. This can happen when children put small objects, such as beads or beans, in their ears. It can also occur if a bug gets inside the ear.
  • Earwax. In some cases, earwax can build up and completely block your child’s ear canal.
  • Swimmer’s ear. This is an infection in the ear canal that can happen after swimming or other exposure to water.
  • Bony lesions. These are growths of bone in the ear canal that are not cancerous.
  • Fluid in the middle ear or an ear infection
  • Ear drum collapse
  • Hole in the ear drum
  • Cholesteatoma. This is a condition where skin cells grow in the middle ear.
  • Damage to the bones in the middle ear
  • Aural atresia. This is a common condition that occurs when the ear canal does not develop properly.
  • Otosclerosis. This is a rare, inherited disease that causes abnormal bone growth in one of the bones in the middle ear.

How is conductive hearing loss treated?

The treatment for your child’s conductive hearing loss depends on the cause of the hearing loss and includes non-surgical and surgical options.

  • Observing the hearing loss over time and follow-up hearing testing
  • Hearing aids or other assistive listening devices
  • Surgery may be needed to correct hearing loss caused by some of the conditions listed above, such as a hole in the eardrum, bony lesions or cholesteatoma.
  • Your child’s doctor may recommend surgery to help improve the cause of the conductive hearing loss. 

Doctors at Connecticut Children’s can determine the right plan if your child requires treatment for conductive hearing loss.