Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sensorineural hearing loss is hearing loss caused by damage to the hair cells of the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve, in contrast to conductive hearing loss, which involves the outer or middle ear. SNHL is the most common type of permanent hearing loss in adults and is associated with age (presbycusis), noise exposure, certain medications, and genetic factors. Unlike conductive loss, SNHL is not usually medically reversible and is managed with hearing aids, cochlear implants, or assistive listening devices. SNHL typically presents as 'sloping' hearing loss — better thresholds at low frequencies, worse at high frequencies — and is often accompanied by reduced frequency selectivity and loudness recruitment, which together make speech-in-noise particularly difficult even when speech is loud enough to be audible.