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Deafness
Permanent hearing impairment
The incidence of significant permanent congenital hearing impairment (PCHI) is about 1 in 1,000 live births in most developed countries although this may be 3-4 times higher in certain communities or parts of the UK. The incidence almost doubles by ten years of age because of acquired hearing loss from meningitis (see entry), mumps, measles, trauma and other causes. The most common reason for PCHI is loss of hair cells in the inner ear but it is sometimes due to malformation of the middle ear ossicles (small bones that transmit vibrations of the ear drum) or the ear canal (tube from the outer to the inner ear). If the hearing loss is due to a problem within the inner ear (sensory), or occasionally due to abnormalities in the hearing nerve (neural), the term sensorineural hearing loss is used. Hearing loss due to a problem within the middle ear or the outer ear is called a conductive hearing loss while a combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss is called a mixed loss.
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