Types of hearing loss
Conductive hearing loss: causes, symptoms and treatment
The most common hearing loss in children, and frequently temporary and treatable
The short answer
Why it matters most in children
A child with fluid behind both eardrums can pass a screening one week and be significantly down the next. During the years a child is learning to talk, that fluctuation means the sound coming in is inconsistent — some days clear, some days muffled.
Dr Alison Collins's PhD in this area
Alison completed her PhD on conductive hearing loss in paediatric populations. That research background is the reason our clinics monitor children over time rather than testing once and discharging them, and why tympanometry — the middle ear pressure test that actually detects fluid — is part of every paediatric appointment.
How we treat it
Treatment is often practical: earwax removal through microsuction, medical management of infection, ENT referral for grommets or eardrum repair, and monitoring over months to see whether it resolves.
Signs of Conductive Hearing Loss
- Hearing that comes and goes, often worse with colds
- A blocked or full feeling in the ear
- Your own voice sounding loud or hollow inside your head
- Repeated ear infections
- Frequently asks for repeats, speech and language delays or difficulties, reading and writing difficulties, poor attention in class, poor behaviour in class
Get a clear answer about your hearing
Independent audiology across Andergrove, Walkerston, Moranbah and Clermont.