Final answer:
Acquired onset of hearing loss occurs after birth due to various factors and can be either conductive or sensorineural. Noise-induced hearing loss has a characteristic frequency dip, while presbycusis, age-related hearing loss, progressively affects higher frequencies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Acquired onset of hearing loss refers to the loss of hearing that occurs after birth, which can result from various causes including environmental factors, aging, infections, or trauma. Conductive hearing loss occurs when there is a problem with the ear's ability to conduct sound waves due to issues like blockages or damage to the ear canal, tympanic membrane, ossicles, or presence of fluid. On the other hand, sensorineural hearing loss involves the failure of the cochlea to convert sound vibrations into neural signals, or the inability of the auditory nerve to carry these signals to the brain.
This type of hearing loss can be due to aging, head or acoustic trauma, infections, exposure to loud noises, tumors, and toxins. Noise-induced hearing loss typically shows a characteristic dip in hearing sensitivity around the 4000 Hz frequency. Presbycusis, the age-related hearing loss, tends to progressively worsen at higher frequencies, affecting both speech recognition and music appreciation.