Hearing loss is a typical aging associate and affects millions of people worldwide. This age-related hearing loss has a medical term known as Presbycusis. This is the age-related gradual decline of the sense of hearing high-frequency sounds, inability to listen over background noises, and poor perception of specific speech sounds. This decline starts at around the age of 60 years, and its effects make it more challenging to manage daily activities and impact the quality of life and mental well-being of patients. As people and their families get better knowledge about the cause, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of presbycusis, they can get better management of old age hearing loss.
What is Presbycusis?
Presbycusis is an advanced hearing loss that develops slowly with aging and is typically bilateral. This differs from trauma or overexposure to loud noises, which usually cause rapid hearing loss. Presbycusis represents a gradual decline often associated with inner ear or auditory nerve changes. For this reason, many patients do not appreciate their loss until they can no longer understand speech or miss critical sounds in their environment.
Reasons of Presbycusis
Several characteristics donate to the development of Presbycusis, so let us examine the causes of old age hearing loss.
- Inner Ear Changes: Over time, hair cells in the cochlea begin to degenerate. These hair cells do not regenerate, and their gradual loss leads to a loss of hearing power, particularly when hearing high-frequency sounds.
- Genetic Factors: Family record donates to age-related hearing loss. People with a tendency to hearing deterioration due to genetic factors suffer from Presbycusis at a younger age.
- Accumulative Noise Exposure: People are continuously exposed to loud noises throughout their lives, contributing to rapid acceleration in hearing loss. Even moderate background noise from city traffic, a busy restaurant, or a construction site gradually affects hearing.
- Health Conditions: Presbycusis has been associated with chronic conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. These conditions may impact the inner ear's blood supply, which is paramount for preserving the functional response.
- Medications: Some types of antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, or large amounts of aspirin may compromise the inner ear and accentuate hearing loss.
Symptoms of Presbycusis
The indications and symptoms of old age hearing loss are ranged in every patient, though some familiar symptoms include:
- Difficulty Perceiving High-Pitched Sounds: It may be challenging to scent high-pitched sounds like chirping birds, ringing phones, or children's voices.
- Struggle to Understand with Speech Recognition: Conversations take much work, specifically in noisy locations. It may be challenging to recognize similar sounds when spoken language is examined.
- Increased Volume Requirements: Patients with presbycusis must increase the volume of their televisions or radios to remain audible.
- Tinnitus: Ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ear, known as tinnitus, commonly occurs with Presbycusis, adding complexity to its condition.
Conclusion
Presbycusis refers to the aging process that impacts one's power to hear. Like many diseases, old age hearing loss does not necessarily mean quality of life. Using suitable approaches, aids, assistive devices, and an appropriate lifestyle, one suffering from presbycusis need not remain detached from this world. Seeking the guidance of an audiologist who offers to provide an assessment in case of suspicion of any amount of hearing loss can take you or a loved one down the right path for the soundest sense of life into advanced age.
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