Neural hearing loss is a condition that originates in either the auditory nerve or in the brain. When the nerve isn’t properly transmitting the messages from the cochlea to the brain, then we can say we deal with a neural hearing loss. The cause is most of the times a acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor that develops on the vestibulocochlear nerve and as it grows, it presses against the auditory nerve, thus interfering with its proper functioning. Other causes can be heredity, RH incompatibility at birth, congenital infections, anoxia or meningitis. Sufferers experience severe decrement of speech discrimination, which may become very frustrating both for them and for their family or friends, as the louder they try to speak, the more difficult will be to distinguish one word from the other. Neural hearing loss is easy to diagnose by testing the acoustic reflex of the patient.

Human ears are naturally protected by a reflex that generates a contraction of the stapedius muscle in case of loud noises. If the medical exams show that the external and middle ear are healthy, yet the person doesn’t manifest this acoustic reflex, it might indicate a neural hearing loss. Unfortunately, there’s no surgical procedure to be able to repair a damaged nerve, therefore the condition is permanent. Hearing aids are useless, because they act upon the mechanism that transmits the sounds to the auditory nerve, and not on the nerve itself. If the nerve hasn’t completely lost its auditory function, a cochlear implant may be able to restore hearing in a certain degree, but if the nerve is completely damaged, such implants are useless. As neural hearing loss is usually occurring as consequence of an infectious disease, it is very important to treat any infectious diseases or chronic middle ear infections as soon as possible, in order to prevent them from reaching and damaging the auditory nerve.