Hearing loss means sounds must be louder before you hear them, or speech sounds unclear. It is conductive (often treatable by an ENT), sensorineural (usually permanent, helped by hearing aids) or mixed. A 30-minute hearing test tells you which.
Right earLeft earEveryday speech
It creeps in over years, so the brain fills the gaps. Signs by situation.
Usually it is other people who notice first. You catch the start of a sentence and lose the end. The pattern on the chart above explains the most common complaint, "I can hear, but I can't understand". Vowels are low-pitched and loud, so you still hear that someone is talking. The quiet high consonants that tell words apart, like s, f and th, are the first to go. Noise makes this worse, because background sound covers the little high-pitched detail that is left.
The type tells you who treats it: an ENT doctor, a hearing aid, or both.
| Type | Where the problem is | Common causes | Usual treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conductive | Outer or middle ear. Sound is blocked on its way in. | Wax, fluid, infection, a hole in the eardrum, stiff middle-ear bones | Often an ENT doctor; hearing may return. A hearing aid if not. |
| Sensorineural | Inner ear (cochlea) or hearing nerve. | Age, loud noise, genetics, some medicines, sudden loss, some illnesses | Permanent. Hearing aids, or a cochlear implant when aids stop giving clear speech. |
| Mixed | Both at once. | For example, age-related loss plus fluid or an old ear infection | ENT treats the conductive part first, then a hearing aid. |
A hearing test finds the type by comparing sound through headphones with sound through a small vibrator behind the ear, which goes straight to the inner ear.
With conductive loss, the inner ear is healthy but sound cannot reach it properly. It is like listening with your fingers in your ears. Voices sound quieter but not distorted, and the cause is often something an ENT doctor can treat. With sensorineural loss, sound reaches the inner ear but the damaged hair cells or nerve pass it on unclearly. Making sounds louder helps, but clarity also has to be shaped pitch by pitch, which is what a well-fitted hearing aid does.
The degree is the average of how loud the main speech pitches had to be before you heard them.
| Average level | Grade | What it is like in a quiet room |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 dB | Normal | Hears quiet speech without trouble |
| 20 to 34 dB | Mild | Misses soft voices, struggles in noisy rooms |
| 35 to 49 dB | Moderate | Asks people to repeat, TV turned up |
| 50 to 64 dB | Moderately severe | Misses most conversation without help |
| 65 to 79 dB | Severe | Hears only loud speech |
| 80 to 94 dB | Profound | Hears very loud sounds only |
Mild loss is easy to miss and easy to dismiss, yet it already makes noisy rooms tiring. By the severe range, hearing aids help with loudness but speech may still be unclear, and a cochlear implant becomes worth discussing. Your audiologist will also look at how clearly you understand words, not only the grade.
Often more than one. The causes we see most in Electronic City.
If you think a medicine is affecting your hearing, ask the doctor who prescribed it.
Age and noise usually affect both ears. One worse ear needs a doctor.
Hearing that drops over hours or days is urgent. Early treatment works best.
Unsure where to start? Call +91 88848 64343 and we will tell you honestly.
Untreated hearing loss rarely stays a hearing problem.
It won't restore normal hearing or fix a problem that needs a doctor. Earlier fitting works best.
Untreated hearing loss rarely stays a hearing problem. Conversation takes more effort, so people come home tired after a family function or a day of meetings. Many start to skip gatherings, stop using the phone, or nod along without following. Over time that can lead to isolation and low mood, for the person and for the family around them.
There is also research interest in hearing and memory. The Lancet Commission on dementia lists hearing loss in midlife as one of the risk factors linked with later cognitive decline. That is an association found in studies, not proof that hearing aids prevent dementia. It is one more reason not to wait years before getting tested.
What a hearing aid can't do is just as important. It will not restore normal hearing or fix a conductive problem that needs a doctor. It works best when fitted early, while the brain is still used to hearing the full range of speech.
From a free three-minute check to an aid in your own life.
Travel hard for an elderly parent? Ask about a home visit.
Same team, same equipment, same hours at both. Pick whichever is closer.
Hulimangla Road, near Sai Mandir Temple, above RxDx Multi Speciality, Hulimangala, Bengaluru 560105
Mon–Sat, 9:30 am – 6:30 pm. Sunday closed.
Lift available. Home visits available.
Closest for Hulimangla, Neeladri Nagar, Doddathoguru, Konappana Agrahara.
Ananth Nagar, above Bata showroom, opp. Udupi Aaradhya restaurant, Bengaluru 560100
Mon–Sat, 9:30 am – 6:30 pm. Sunday closed.
Upstairs, reached by stairs. There is no lift. Home visits available.
Closest for Ananth Nagar, Hebbagodi, Bommasandra, Chandapura.
Usually it is other people who notice first. You turn the TV up, ask people to repeat themselves, find it hard to follow talk in a noisy room, or feel that others mumble. Many people say "I can hear, but I can't understand". A hearing test shows whether that is hearing loss and how much.
It depends on the type. Conductive loss, from wax, fluid, an infection or some eardrum and middle-ear problems, can often be treated by an ENT doctor, and hearing may come back. Sensorineural loss, from age or noise damage to the inner ear, is permanent. It cannot be reversed, but hearing aids or a cochlear implant can make speech clear again.
Conductive loss means sound is blocked on its way in, in the outer or middle ear. Sensorineural loss means the inner ear or hearing nerve is damaged, so sound arrives but is not passed on clearly. A hearing test tells them apart by comparing sound through headphones with sound through a small vibrator behind the ear.
The grade comes from your audiogram: how loud sounds must be before you hear them, averaged across the main speech pitches. Mild loss misses soft voices. Moderate loss means asking people to repeat often. Severe loss means hearing only loud speech. The table on this page shows the WHO grades.
See an ENT doctor. Hearing loss in one ear only is not typical of ageing, so it needs a doctor's opinion as well as a hearing test. If it came on suddenly, over hours or a few days, go the same day. Early treatment gives the best chance of getting hearing back.
It is very common. Most people lose some high-pitched hearing from their 50s or 60s onwards. Common does not mean you should leave it. Treating it keeps conversation easy and life less tiring. See hearing aids for seniors for what helps.
Yes. Our online hearing check takes about three minutes and tells you whether to book a full test. It is not a diagnosis. It cannot tell you the type of hearing loss, how much you have, or whether you need a doctor.
A 30-minute hearing test at Phase 1 or Phase 2. You leave with your audiogram and a clear next step.
