Meniere’s disease affects the inner ear and causes deafness, but it often carries with it vertigo and tinnitis (ringing in the ear) so you may not want to use that.

Acoustic neromas grow in the vestibulococchlear nerve (the one that transmits sound to your brain). They tend to cause deafness and may not have other symptoms at first.

Ototoxicity can also cause hearing loss. This is due to medications that can cause damage to the nerves and render someone deaf. Examples of such include some antibiotics like streptomycin, salicyates like aspirin, some diuretics like lasix, and some chemotherapy treatments (names fail me here).

Trauma such as fracture of the temporal bone or a punctured eardrum can cause deafness.

Earwax can cause deafness if it builds up enough. This is, obviously, easily treated.

I can’t remember the name, but there are benign tumors that can grow to the point that they block the ear canal and thus block sound.

As far as my source, growing up visiting many an ear doctor’s office and playing with ear models. Life long hearing impairment. jade_calliope

I experienced noise-induced hearing loss - went to too many rock concerts. But in my case, it took 20 years.

Ironically, I have hearing loss in my left ear right now - ear infection has caused swelling of the ear canal closing it off. But you’re right that this is NOT going to be a problem for more than a week or two, at worst. dryheatdave