Not being to hear can be a serious hindrance to your work life, personal life, and general quality of life. A lot of the time hearing loss comes with age and is so gradual that many people barely even realize that they have it. Luckily, with modern medicine and technology, there is a lot that can be done about different types of hearing loss. Here are the four most common types and what might cause them:

1. Trouble Hearing In Noisy Places
Gradual hearing loss, called presbycusis, is caused by the death of hair cells in your inner ear and is a very common occurrence for people as they age. Those cells are responsible for translating sound vibrations into brain signals. Difficulty hearing in particularly noisy places is one of the first signs of hearing loss, since filtering out background noise is a pretty complex process.

2. Feeling Like Your Ears Are “Full”
An infection or allergy can lead to excess mucus blocking your smallest ear canal. You might experience a feeling of fullness, muffled hearing, popping, pain, or tinnitus (ringing ears), or even have a hard time maintaining balance. This can also sometimes result from a buildup of earwax.

3. Sudden Hearing Loss
Swelling or fluid buildup from a virus or ear infection can suddenly affect the hair cells and nerves in your ears. Sometimes this can also result from the heavy use of some medications, like aspirin, IV antibiotics, chemotherapy, and diuretics.

1. Hearing Loss Fluctuates
This may result from Meniere’s disease, which is an uncommon disorder that has no known cause, and causes an alteration in the flow and chemical composition of fluid in the inner ear. Other symptoms include dizziness, nausea, and trouble balancing.
Some things that help include a low sodium diet and a prescribed diuretic which can help reduce inflammation.

Hearing loss can always be hard, but luckily there are hearing aids and other treatments which can make it a lot less inconvenient. Listening devices have become very advanced, and are not likely to do anything but enhance your quality of life. Check with your doctor to find listening devices that might be right for you.