Conductive hearing loss treatment depends on what causes the hearing loss. In many cases, we can find a treatment option that corrects outer or middle ear issues and restores your hearing. When treatment can’t bring back your hearing, we can help make communication, social interaction, and daily activities easier and more enjoyable.
What We Offer for Conductive Hearing Loss
- Specialized expertise: You'll see providers at one of the top ear, nose, and throat (ENT) centers in the world to help identify the cause of conductive hearing loss.
- Groundbreaking treatments: We offer advanced conductive hearing loss treatments that require in-depth knowledge and skill, ranging from helpful devices to advanced microsurgery.
- A collaborative team: Our ENT, hearing, and balance specialists work together to provide compassionate care that prioritizes your needs.
- Clinical trials: Our active research efforts provide eligible patients with early access to promising therapies available only at Stanford Health Care.
- Ease of access: You can find providers, treatment, and support services at convenient locations across the Bay Area. We make it simple to get the care you need—anywhere and anytime.
Connect to Care
Interested in an Online Second Opinion?
The Stanford Medicine Online Second Opinion program offers you easy access to our world-class doctors. It’s all done remotely, and you don’t have to visit our hospital or one of our clinics for this service. You don’t even need to leave home!
Visit our online second opinion page to learn more.
Types of Conductive Hearing Loss Treatment
You and your doctor will discuss the treatment plan that best fits your needs. Your doctor may need to remove earwax, or may recommend medications, hearing amplification, or surgery. Ear infections or injuries might heal on their own, or with the help of medication or surgery.
Sometimes we don’t need to take immediate action. Active surveillance means we’ll keep a close eye on your hearing loss. Your doctor will continue doing ear exams and hearing tests at follow-up visits. If we notice the cause of hearing loss worsening or posing a risk to your health, then we’ll discuss a treatment plan with you.
Medications help treat certain causes of conductive hearing loss, such as ear infections. Antimicrobial medications fight a range of ear problems, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Your doctor may prescribe medication in the form of ear drops or pills to take by mouth.
We offer hearing aids to amplify the sound around you and change it into something you can hear. We have multiple types of hearing aids that use advanced technology, including less visible options.
Our specialists spend time with you to figure out the type, fit, and settings that work best for you. You may receive:
- Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids
- In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids
- In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids
- Body aids (ear molds connected to a small box you keep in your pocket or on a belt)
We specialize in advanced microsurgery procedures to fix ear damage or help improve your hearing. Your treatment plan may include surgery to:
- Fix the tiny structures and bones in your ear, such as your eardrum or middle ear bones
- Place an implantable hearing device, such as a bone conduction hearing device, if external hearing aids don’t work well enough
- Remove cysts, blockages, growths, or tumors
You may find additional devices to be helpful for hearing loss, including assistive listening devices, alerting devices, and other communication aids. For example, alerting devices can notify you of sounds around the house, like your phone or doorbell ringing.
If hearing loss affects your balance, you have access to the Stanford Health Care Balance Center. Our team combines otolaryngology (ENT), neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and orthopaedic expertise. We do complete evaluations that help us make personalized treatment plans to improve your balance.
Clinical Trials for Conductive Hearing Loss
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials through the Stanford Cancer Institute to treat ear cancer.
Open trials refer to studies that are currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants soon. Closed trials are not currently enrolling additional patients.