Hard Of Hearing: Definition, Symptoms And Treatments

Hearing loss is "a description of the challenges that someone with mild, moderate, severe, or severe hearing loss faces," says Hope Weaver, an audiologist at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle.

"A person who is hard of hearing or has a hearing loss usually finds it difficult to carry on a conversation with friends, family, and many other people, especially when there is background noise," he says.

Anyone with hearing loss, regardless of the severity, can fall into the hearing loss category, adds Sarah Lundstrom, an audiologist at the Hearcare Audiology Center in Florida. "You can tell someone has a hearing loss if they have a hearing loss or a hearing loss perception," he says.

Hard of hearing vs deaf

While both refer to the degree of hearing loss, deafness refers to a person with any type of hearing loss, usually from mild to severe. Deafness, on the other hand, is more serious and is considered a total or severe hearing loss, according to Allison Treseder, an audiologist and director of business development at Entheos Audiology Cooperative, a group of hearing professionals.

"People with hearing loss often use amplification devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants to be able to hear and understand speech better," says Dr. Tresder. “Deaf people may rely on sign language or lip reading to communicate with others. They also have the option to use assistive devices such as text and messages to better access information."

Hearing problems vs hearing loss

Hearing loss and hearing loss are closely related because hearing loss describes someone who may have mild to severe hearing loss, says Kristen Conners, an audiologist at Prescription Hearing in Palos Park, Illinois.

Hearing loss can occur in one ear (single) or in both ears (bilateral), says Dr. Connors, and there are four classifications of hearing loss:

• Soft: A person with mild hearing loss has difficulty hearing soft sounds.
• Moderate: Moderate hearing loss makes it difficult to follow conversations, especially in the presence of background noise.
• Severe: Severe hearing loss refers to the inability to hear loud sounds and people speak at a normal volume.
• Profound : People with severe hearing loss cannot hear sounds related to speech and usually can only hear some very loud sounds.

Conductive hearing loss has been described