Sensorineural hearing loss (
SNHL) is a type of
hearing loss, or
deafness, in which the root cause lies in the
inner ear (
cochlea and associated structures),
vestibulocochlear nerve (
cranial nerve VIII), or central auditory processing centers of the
brain. SNHL accounts for about 90% of hearing loss reported. A hallmark of such hearing loss is that it is asymmetrically distributed usually toward the high frequency region, or may have a notch at some frequency. SNHL is generally permanent and can be mild, moderate, severe, profound, or total.