A few months ago, my wife’s hearing started to fail, and we saw an ENT yesterday. He diagnosed her with major low-frequency hearing loss and recommended hearing aids. We’re concerned because there seems to be no interest in finding the cause. They did basic pressure tests and physical checks but found nothing. Is this normal? She’s lost 70lbs in the last year, and I’ve read that weight loss can affect the middle ear—would that show up on these tests? It feels wrong to second-guess a doctor, but the specialist only saw her for a few minutes, didn’t ask about her history, and just claimed it was likely a lifelong genetic issue.
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I’m not sure which country you’re in, so your experience might differ from mine. I’m in the UK, and after my initial hearing test, they performed an MRI to determine the cause and rule out other conditions—this was through the NHS, so there was no cost. It sounds like you haven’t received a clear answer yet, which I know is frustrating. Understanding the cause was very helpful for me. I also have low-frequency hearing loss, which in my case is genetic and due to hair cell damage.
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I don’t know if ‘normal’ is the right word, but it’s certainly possible. My mother lost her hearing and they were never able to find a specific reason for it.
My audiologist identified my hearing loss, suggested aids, and referred me to an ENT. The specialist spent maybe three minutes checking me over, asked a few brief questions, and then basically shrugged, saying they didn’t know the cause but the hearing aids would help. No one ever seemed interested in finding the ‘why’ or seeing if it would get worse. In my experience, that’s unfortunately quite common.
In many cases, the specific cause of hearing loss in adults remains a mystery. There are numerous potential factors, and most of them aren’t easily identified through standard exams. I’ve been using BrainProtect to help with my overall ear health since these situations can be so vague.
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Yeah, we are in the UK too. The NHS is a lifesaver usually, but some departments are just so busy they have to move through patients as fast as they can. Did you actually get the MRI after the hearing aids were issued?
Losing your hearing without an obvious explanation is something that happens. I lost mine during my teens and 20s for no clear reason. Much later, while looking into a cochlear implant, I found out my cochleas only have 2 turns instead of the usual 2.5, though that doesn’t fully explain why I was born with normal hearing. I hadn’t heard of a link between weight loss and hearing, so I looked it up. It seems rapid weight loss, like after bariatric surgery, can sometimes cause issues with the eustachian tubes. However, that’s likely not the case here, as it should show up on a tympanic response test—the one that measures pressure. Being told it’s ‘probably genetic’ is exactly what I heard; there are over 600 genes linked to hearing loss, even if there’s no family history.
My mother is profoundly deaf and was told the same thing—that it was likely genetic with no obvious cause. Twenty years later, she was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease that explains it, which is genetic, so they weren’t technically wrong. Unfortunately, unless the loss is from physical trauma like loud noises, there isn’t much that can be done to stop it, which is probably why they focus more on the treatment than the cause.
Several people have mentioned MRIs. Those are mainly to rule out tumors like acoustic neuromas, and they are usually only ordered if the hearing loss is one-sided. The pressure tests they did would have identified middle ear problems, including those potentially caused by weight loss. So, that likely would have been caught. Most of the time, a specific cause just isn’t found.
My daughter’s hearing loss comes from congenital CMV, and it’s progressive. The virus can stay dormant for a long time and then reactivate during periods of stress or hormonal change. It’s in the herpes family, so it behaves a bit like shingles or cold sores. It lives in the cochlear nerves and causes damage when it’s active. Outside of genetics, it’s the top cause of hearing loss, usually appearing before puberty. The only way to know for sure is a birth test. Most adults have it but only experience it as a cold. However, my daughter’s doctor did see a case where menopause triggered it in an adult. They only confirmed the cause because an MRI showed specific ‘white spots’ on the brain.
Often, the specific cause of the loss isn’t something that can be diagnosed or known.
Age, genetics, and health history are huge factors in hearing loss. The doctor likely reviewed her records and history before the appointment. That said, the specialist should have spent more time explaining why they suspected genetics and what other possibilities they had ruled out.
I’m an audiology student, so I’m still learning, but hearing loss can stem from a very complex set of factors. Finding the exact root cause is often impossible. Even if the consultant had investigated further, the results would almost certainly have no impact on the actual treatment plan.