The inability to hear, or deafness, can occur for many reasons. Some types of hearing loss result from something blocking sound as it travels from the outer ear to the eardrum and the tiny bones in the middle ear. Other types of loss arise from damage to or a defect of the inner ear or the auditory nerve, which is the nerve that carries sound signals from the inner ear to the brain. Deafness can happen as a result of disease, including severe ear infections, or it can be inherited, with the deafness being apparent at birth or sometimes showing up years later. Injuries and accidents also account for many cases of deafness. Extremely loud noises, like those that come from an explosion, can cause deafness, though that loss of hearing is sometimes temporary. People who work in noisy factories or those who are frequently exposed to very loud music can also develop hearing loss over time. Many people gradually lose some or all of their hearing when they reach old age, but some of those types of hearing loss can be overcome by wearing a hearing aid, which makes noises like speech or music louder.

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