Conductive Hearing Loss

Sound is blocked on its way through the outer or middle ear

Overview

Conductive hearing loss happens when sound cannot travel efficiently through the ear canal, eardrum, or the tiny middle ear bones to reach a healthy inner ear. Common causes include earwax, fluid behind the eardrum, infection, a perforated eardrum, otosclerosis, and malformations of the ear canal or ossicles. On an audiogram it shows as a gap between air conduction and bone conduction thresholds. Because the inner ear itself is working, many conductive losses are temporary or can be addressed medically or surgically, and bone conduction devices are an option when they cannot.