Conductive and Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is the symptom most commonly seen in association with tinnitus. According to the various models of tinnitus development, hearing loss also represents the crucial trigger mechanism for the development of tinnitus. Since different structures such as the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear are involved in the peripheral hearing process, a distinction is also made between conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss and retrocochlear hearing loss, depending on the localization of the pathology. This chapter highlights the main causes of conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss. A detailed clarification of the causes of hearing loss in tinnitus is important, as in many cases this also leads to specific therapies, which ideally will result in an improvement of hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms. In the case of middle ear hearing loss, these therapeutic approaches are primarily surgical in nature (tympanoplasty, stapes surgery), in the case of sensorineural hearing loss, the improvement is generally based on a prosthetic fitting with hearing aids or cochlear implants.