Article by Hue Hearing

Tinnitus affects about one in five people worldwide. In the US alone, that’s approximately 50 million people. Though tinnitus is not life-threatening, it can severely impact your quality of life and particularly the quality of your sleep. Often, the condition comes on quite suddenly. Sufferers may…

Hearing loss is when you’re unable to partially or completely hear sound in one or both of your ears. Hearing loss typically occurs gradually over time. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) reports that about 25 percent of those between the ages of 65 and 74 experience hearing loss.

Other names for hearing loss are:

• decreased hearing
• deafness
• loss of hearing
• conductive hearing loss

The three main parts of the ear are the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. Hearing begins when sound waves pass through the outer ear to the eardrum, which is the thin piece of skin between your outer and middle ear. When the sound waves reach the eardrum, the eardrum vibrates.

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Originally published at https://www.healthline.com on July 18, 2012.