
Temporary hearing impairment can be caused by an ear infection, trauma, a tumor, or fluid or an object in the ear (such as wax buildup), noise, infection, sinus problems, allergies or otosclerosis - a hereditary disorder causing progressive deafness due to overgrowth of bone in the inner ear.
Sensorineural hearing loss can be treated with amplification (hearing instruments) and, occasionally, surgery.
"Hidden hearing loss" (cochlear synaptopathy) is the loss of the synaptic connections in the cochlea, rather than hair cell death. It is the earliest sign of damage in both noise- and age-related hearing impairment. This condition does not affect hearing sensitivity in quiet environments, but reduces abilities to understand speech in noisy environments.