Classification of hearing disorders

According to the period of origin, we distinguish disorders:
 * 1) congenital (prenatal);
 * 2) acquired (perinatal and postnatal).

According to the place of damage to the auditory system, we distinguish disorders:
 * 1) central – damage is at level II–IV. auditory pathway neuron; less common cause is trauma or tumor;
 * 2) peripheral – the damage is at the level of the external ear to the nuclei of the auditory nerve;
 * 3) conduction – obstruction in the outer or middle ear; it can be a sebaceous plug or inflammation in the external auditory canal, perforation of the eardrum, acute or chronic inflammation of the middle ear, catarrh of the Eustachian tube, otosclerosis;
 * 4) perceptual – damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve;
 * 5) cochlear – damage to the cochlea; etiologically, it can be presbyacusis, socioacusis, Ménière's disease, ischemic or toxic inner ear damage;
 * 6) retrocochlear – damage to the auditory nerve and its nuclei; most often it is inflammation, trauma or tumor (vestibular schwannoma).



related articles

 * Hard of hearing
 * Examination methods in ENT/overview
 * Hearing examination
 * Examination of the balance system
 * Hearing