Whether you’ve been diagnosed with some degree of hearing loss or you think you might be starting to notice the symptoms, you might be wondering precisely what it is that’s likely to have caused your hearing loss.

Unfortunately, there’s not always a clear answer to that question. But there are a range of potential causes, and we’re going to talk about some of the most common among them today. So read on to find out more about the causes of hearing loss.

Getting Older

One of the most common causes of hearing loss is simply getting older. When you get older, the cells in your inner ear also age and deteriorate with time. That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to your hearing and your hearing health as you reach an older age. If you’re someone who has always had hearing issues, it might not be the aging process that’s causing these things though.

Genetic Reasons

For some people, it’s simply about genetics. Some people are genetically predisposed to experience hearing loss and it’s handed down in their DNA, just as many other conditions are. There’s nothing we can do to change our genetics, but it certainly is a potential factor when judging the derivation of your hearing condition.

Head Trauma

Some people find that they start experiencing hearing challenges and hearing loss after they experience some head trauma. Sustaining damage to the head is commonly associated with damage to the ears and hearing. If you did experience something like this and your hearing issues came about not long afterwards, the chances are that the two things are connected in some way.

Smoking

We all know by now how bad smoking is for our health in general. There’s certainly no denying that. But did you know that smoking can also cause damage to your hearing and make hearing loss more likely? If you haven’t done so already, you should seek help with breaking your addiction and giving up tobacco once and for all.

Hypertension

Another very common cause of hearing loss is hypertension. High blood pressure can cause many different health problems throughout the body, there’s no doubt about that. But the impact it can have on hearing and hearing loss is one of the things that’s very often overlooked.

Noise Exposure

Finally, and perhaps the most common cause of all, is noise exposure. When your ears are exposed to loud noises on a regular basis, it’s not good for your ears. And as the damage compounds over time, it’ll eventually become irreversible, and that’s when people start to experience hearing loss. Its why hearing protection is so important.

As you can see, there’s a wide range of things that can cause hearing loss, and the causes we’ve discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other things that can cause hearing loss, including many different chronic illnesses and diseases. If you think you might be experiencing hearing loss, be sure to talk to your audiologist about it.