Conductive hearing loss happens when sound is not transmitted through the outer and middle ear. It may result from interference of sound going through the outer ear to the eardrum. In the middle ear, sound may not be conducted by the ossicles or the eardrum may have difficulty vibrating normally. Therefore, a person with conductive hearing loss can have problems with the external ear canal, or the tympanic membrane and middle ear.
Conductive hearing loss can happen as a result of a simple cold, which causes fluid to temporarily build up in the ear. That fluid blocks sound. The same thing can happen with an ear infection. Another cause is having too much earwax impacted in the ear. Still another cause is having some kind of object in the ear that should not be there.
The good news about conductive hearing loss is that it can usually be corrected with medication or surgery. However, even temporary conductive hearing loss can have an impact on children, researchers have found. Conductive hearing loss from otitis media with effusion can last as long as six months.
The hearing loss is usually mild -- just 10 to 30 decibels -- which means that parents and teachers may not be aware of it. However, past studies have found conductive hearing loss does have an association with processing and understanding speech. Not only that, conductive hearing loss can affect a child's behavior, making the child irritable and causing difficulty concentrating.
Does temporary conductive hearing loss have long-term impact? A researcher looked at high school students with histories of no ear infections, or ear infections with and without grommets. Her study showed girls who had grommets had poorer academic performance and less confidence in their social skills. Meanwhile, boys who had ear infections (with or without grommets) had more behavior problems.
Sources:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Conductive Hearing Loss. http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Conductive-Hearing-Loss/ Accessed March 2011.
National Library of Medicine. Conductive Hearing Loss. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/glossary=conductivehearingloss. Accessed March 2011
Stenton, Janice Shirley. The Long Term Effects of the Fluctuating, Conductive Hearing Loss Caused by Otitis Media with Effusion on Learning and Behaviour for Adolescent Students. August 2003. Doctoral thesis, Griffith University, Queensland.
