some 20+ years ago, they were told it was “nerve damage, nothing can be done”. "Nothing can be done" is not correct, as the hearing loss can be helped with amplification. What ENT surgeons usually mean is "it's not reversible" (true, if too much time has passed). The term “nerve damage” was often used for sensorineural hearing loss - which is where the damage is located in the cochlea (inner ear) and/or the nerves beyond the cochlea.