What is conductive deafness? Conductive deafness is a condition in which the transmission of sound from the outside to the inner ear is impaired. It is a common disease in otology, with lesions in the external auditory canal, middle ear, vestibular and cochlear windows. In simple conductive deafness, the maximum hearing loss does not exceed 60 dB, while sounds above 60 dB can be transmitted through the skull to the inner ear. Patients with this disease often feel that they can’t distinguish sounds when listening to speech, but have no difficulty interacting with speech when talking loudly face-to-face. The main causes of conductive deafness are congenital malformations, including malformations of the outer middle ear, such as atresia of the ear canal and underdevelopment of the tympanic membrane, auditory tuberosity and cochlear window, and vestibular window. Obstruction of the external auditory canal due to various causes. Eardrum perforation due to trauma and middle ear inflammation. Inflammation of the middle ear, such as middle ear effusion, adhesions, dissociation or defects of the auditory tuberosity, middle ear sarcoidosis, tympanosclerosis, otosclerosis and middle ear tumors. The audiogram is characterized by severe low-frequency hearing loss, with downward displacement of the air conduction and normal bone conduction. If it occurs in infancy, it can lead to delayed speech development. With timely treatment, most of them can recover and usually do not affect speech communication. Classification and treatment of deafness Deafness can be broadly classified into conductive deafness, sensorineural deafness and mixed deafness according to the location of the lesion. People often think of hearing aids as the only treatment for deafness, but do not understand other means. In fact, different treatments are available for different types of deafness, including hearing aids and cochlear implants for sensorineural and mixed deafness. Most conductive deafness can be cured by microsurgical treatment of the ear. Surgical treatment of conductive deafness is mainly aimed at congenital ear malformation, secretory otitis media, chronic otitis media, otosclerosis and other types of external and middle ear disorders.