Hearing Impairment

Course overview

Hearing impairment is one of the most common sensory disorders and has multiple underlying causes. There are three basic types of hearing impairment: conductive hearing impairment, sensorineural hearing impairment, and mixed hearing impairment. Many conditions can cause hearing impairment, and presbycusis, a form of sensorineural hearing impairment, is the most common. Regardless of the level of impairment or why it happened, hearing impairment can be a significant cause of social difficulties, a decreased quality of life, social isolation, and depression. Some hearing impairments are temporary and curable and some are permanent and irreversible but there are ways of helping a person who has a temporary or permanent hearing impairment to communicate.