Conductive hearing loss involves

• A. Pathways between outer and inner ear are obstructed
• B. Damage to hair cells inside the inner ear
• C. Nerve damage transmitting to brain
• D. Hearing loss due to aging

Answer: (A)

Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound can’t be conducted efficiently through the outer or middle ear to reach the inner ear. A blockage or disruption in the pathways between the outer ear and inner ear—such as earwax buildup, fluid in the middle ear, a perforated eardrum, or stiff/immobile middle-ear bones—reduces the amount of sound that reaches the inner cochlea. The issue is in the transmission of sound through the ear’s outer/middle structures, not in the inner ear's sensory cells or the neural pathways. In contrast, damage to hair cells inside the inner ear or nerve transmission problems are forms of sensorineural (or neural) hearing loss, and aging-related loss is typically sensorineural as well.