Return to. You know what hearing is, but what is hearing loss? Hearing loss, or hearing impairment (say: im-pare-ment), happens when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear or ears. About 3 in 1,000 babies are born with hearing impairment, making it the most common birth defect. kidshealth. org/kid/health_problems/sight/hearing_impair. kidshealth. org/kid/health_problems/sight/hearing_impairment. html. Hearing impairment occurs when there's a problem with or damage to one or more parts of the ear. The degree of hearing impairment can vary widely from person to person. In addition to noise-induced hearing loss, other types of hearing impairment can affect people during their teen years. kidshealth. org/teen/diseases_conditions/sight/hearing_i. kidshealth. org/teen/diseases_conditions/sight/hearing_impairment. html. Hearing or speech impairment - resources The following organizations are good resources for information on hearing impairment or speech impairment: www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002152. htm. Services and providers for Hearing Disorders and Deafness in the U. S. The primary NIH organization for research on Hearing Disorders and Deafness is the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/hearingdisordersanddeafness. www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/hearingdisordersanddeafness. html. Hearing impairment is a broad term used to describe the loss of hearing in one or both ears. There are different levels of hearing impairment: Hearing impairment refers to complete or partial loss of the ability to hear from one or both ears. The level of impairment can be mild, moderate, severe or profound; www. who. int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs300/en/index. html. Hearing impairment is the decreased ability to hear and discriminate among sounds. It is one of the most common birth defects. Hearing impairment that is present at birth is called congenital hearing impairment. Each year in the United States, about 12,000 babies (3 in 1,000) are born with significant hearing impairment (1). www. marchofdimes. com/professionals/14332_1232. asp. Learn about hearing loss with facts, figures, causes, signs, and consequences of hearing impairment. Personal experiences, advice, treatment, and hearing aids. Includes section on children. Please spend 5 minutes telling us about your experience with hearing impairment. www. hear-it. org/ www. hear-it. org/. Embed URL. bb&ob; border-bottom : 1px solid #E2ECF5; &cb;.