Which type of hearing loss is caused by damage to the middle ear system or external auditory canal blockage?

Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound waves cannot efficiently travel through the outer and middle ear to reach the inner ear. This type of hearing loss can arise due to various factors, including damage to the structures of the middle ear (such as the ossicles) or blockages in the external auditory canal (like earwax buildup or a foreign object).

In conductive hearing loss, the problem is primarily located in the pathway that conducts sound rather than in the inner ear's sensory cells or the auditory nerve, which remain functional. Therefore, sound becomes less audible or muffled because it is not being transmitted properly to the inner ear.

Other types of hearing loss, such as mixed hearing loss or sensory/neural hearing loss, involve either additional components (like sensorineural damage) or other mechanisms that are not related to the middle ear or external canal blockage specifically. Functional hearing loss refers to cases where hearing loss is present but not attributable to any identifiable biological or mechanical issue, being more psychological in nature. Thus, the classification of conductive hearing loss is accurate for the described cause of hearing impairment.