Hearing Loss Treatment in San Francisco, CA
Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic health conditions in the United States affecting people of every age, not just seniors. At SH Otolaryngology, our board-certified ENT physicians and audiologists treat the full spectrum of hearing conditions across our Bay Area locations.
This guide covers everything you need to know: the different types of hearing loss, what causes it, how it’s diagnosed, and what treatment options are available. Use the links throughout to explore any topic in more depth.
How Common Is Hearing Loss?
Approximately 48 million Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. About 26 million adults between 20 and 69 have noise-induced hearing loss from occupational or recreational noise exposure and one in three people over 65 has clinically significant hearing loss. Despite this, the average person waits 7 to 10 years after first noticing a change before seeking treatment.
Early intervention leads to significantly better outcomes. If you’ve noticed changes in your hearing, the first step is a comprehensive hearing evaluation with one of our audiologists or ENT physicians.
Types of Hearing Loss
Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL) is the most common type, caused by damage to the hair cells inside the cochlea or to the auditory nerve. It is usually permanent, but highly treatable with hearing aids or, in severe cases, cochlear implants. Noise exposure, aging, and certain medications are leading causes.
Conductive Hearing Loss occurs when sound cannot efficiently travel through the outer or middle ear to reach the inner ear. Common causes include fluid from ear infections, earwax blockage, or a perforated eardrum. Unlike sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss is often medically or surgically reversible.
Mixed Hearing Loss is a combination of both a problem in the outer or middle ear along with damage in the inner ear or auditory nerve.
Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss is a medical emergency. If you experience rapid, unexplained hearing loss in one ear with or without dizziness or tinnitus contact us or go to an emergency room immediately. Early steroid treatment within the first 72 hours significantly improves recovery odds.
Common Causes of Hearing Loss
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) – Sounds at or above 85 decibels can damage the delicate hair cells in your inner ear. Unlike many causes of hearing loss, NIHL is entirely preventable. A single exposure to a very loud sound (like an explosion) can cause immediate damage, but most NIHL accumulates over years from music, power tools, traffic, and workplace noise. Once those hair cells are damaged, they cannot regenerate.
Presbycusis (Age-Related Hearing Loss) – The natural aging process causes gradual changes to the inner ear and auditory nerve over time. Presbycusis typically affects both ears equally and progresses slowly, making it easy to miss until it significantly affects daily communication.
Sleep Apnea – Sleep apnea reduces oxygen supply to the auditory system. Research published by the American Thoracic Society found that people with sleep apnea had a 31% increased risk of high-frequency hearing impairment and a 90% increased risk of low-frequency impairment. Our team treats both sleep apnea and hearing loss.
Diabetes — High blood glucose damages the small blood vessels that supply the inner ear. If you have diabetes, regular hearing screenings should be part of your annual health routine.
Ototoxic Medications — Certain medications, including some antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, and high doses of aspirin or ibuprofen, can damage cochlear function. If you are starting a new medication regimen and concerned about hearing, speak with your physician.
Smoking — Smoking reduces blood flow to the inner ear’s delicate structures and increases hearing loss risk in both smokers and people regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.
Tinnitus — Ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears often accompanies hearing loss. Tinnitus is not a condition in itself but a symptom of underlying auditory changes. Our audiologists offer tinnitus evaluation and management alongside hearing care.
Recognizing the Signs
You may have hearing loss if you frequently:
- Ask people to repeat themselves or speak up
- Have difficulty following conversations in noisy environments
- Turn up the TV or radio louder than others prefer
- Struggle to hear on the phone
- Miss high-pitched sounds like birds or doorbells
- Find it easier to understand men’s voices than women’s or children’s
Take our self-assessment questionnaire or request a hearing evaluation to get a clearer picture.
How Hearing Loss Is Diagnosed
Our audiologists perform a comprehensive battery of tests to measure the type and degree of your hearing loss:
Pure Tone Audiometry measures the softest sounds you can hear across a range of frequencies, producing an audiogram a graph of your hearing ability.
Speech Audiometry tests how well you understand spoken words.
Tympanometry assesses middle ear function and eardrum mobility.
Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs) test the health of the cochlea’s hair cells directly.
Your results determine not just whether you have hearing loss, but which type, how severe it is, and which treatment path is most appropriate.
Treatment Options
Hearing loss cannot be “cured” in the traditional sense, but it can be effectively treated and further loss can almost always be slowed or prevented.
Hearing Aids are the most common treatment for mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Modern hearing aids are sophisticated digital devices, not the bulky amplifiers of decades past. They come in a range of styles from completely-in-canal (CIC) to receiver-in-canal (RIC) to behind-the-ear (BTE) with features like Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable batteries, and directional microphones. Our San Francisco Audiology team fits and programs hearing aids with ongoing follow-up care.
Cochlear Implants are an option for patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who receive limited benefit from hearing aids. Rather than amplifying sound, a cochlear implant bypasses damaged hair cells and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Our ENT surgeons perform cochlear implant surgery and coordinate the full rehabilitation process.
Medical and Surgical Treatment — Conductive hearing loss caused by chronic ear infections, fluid in the middle ear, perforated eardrum, or otosclerosis is often treated medically or surgically, with procedures such as myringotomy, tympanoplasty, or stapedectomy.
Earwax Removal — Impacted cerumen (earwax) is one of the most common, most easily treated causes of temporary hearing loss. Our physicians can safely remove impacted wax in-office.
Hearing Loss in Children
Hearing loss in infants and children requires prompt attention because hearing is foundational to speech and language development. Newborn hearing screenings identify most cases at birth, but hearing loss can also develop later. Our Pediatric ENT team works closely with families and audiologists to manage pediatric hearing conditions from ear tube placement to ongoing hearing aid support.
Hearing Loss Prevention
[LINK: Hearing Loss Prevention page] Much of the hearing loss seen in adults particularly NIHL is preventable. Protect your hearing by:
- Using foam or custom-fitted earplugs at concerts, sporting events, and when operating loud machinery
- Keeping personal audio devices below 60% volume and using noise-canceling headphones
- Scheduling regular hearing evaluations if you work in a high-noise occupation
- Treating conditions like sleep apnea and diabetes that affect auditory health
When to See an ENT or Audiologist
You should schedule a hearing evaluation if you’ve noticed any change in your hearing, experience ringing in your ears, or have risk factors such as noise exposure, a family history of hearing loss, or a chronic health condition linked to hearing. There’s no age threshold early evaluation leads to better outcomes.
To schedule an appointment with our audiology branch.