Preventing Presbycusis
You’re 75-years-old and you have trouble hearing. You are embarrassed that you can’t follow along in conversations. You could have presbycusis.
Presbycusis is age-related hearing loss. Quite simply, it is the decline in hearing that many people experience as they get older. It is more likely to occur after the age of 65.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, almost 1 in 3 adults experience hearing loss between the ages of 65 and 74. After age 75, about half of all adults have trouble hearing.
The primary symptom of age-related hearing loss is difficulty hearing. Other hearing loss symptoms include:
§ Difficulty making out higher pitches, such as children’s voices or some electronic sounds (for instance, tones on a cell phone).
§ Reading lips when others speak to you.
§ Turning the volume up on the TV or radio.
§ Trouble understanding speech in crowded or noisy places, such as restaurants.
§ Tinnitus (ringing, buzzing, roaring noises or “crickets”) in one or both ears.
Most commonly, presbycusis comes from changes in the inner ear that occur as you age. It affects both ears equally and has a gradual onset. Many people have a combination of both age-related hearing loss and noise-induced hearing loss. Over time, loud noises can damage your sensory hair cells, one of the parts of the ear that allows hearing.
Causes of hearing loss may vary. You are more likely to experience age-related hearing loss if you have diabetes, family history of hearing loss or high blood pressure.
To diagnose presbycusis, your provider will do a physical examination of the ear. He or she will look inside of the ear, using an otoscope (a small magnifying instrument with a light) to look at the eardrum and outer ear canal. The examination checks for eardrum damage, inflammation (redness and swelling) or infection.
Your healthcare provider may refer you to an audiologist (hearing specialist) or an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist). The audiologist will run a series of tests in order to check your hearing. The first one will be a set of beeps through a set of headphones where you respond after hearing each sound. Then, you will listen for words at different degrees of loudness and repeat them back. The audiologist will use an audiogram to graph your hearing sensitivity, which can help the provider decipher the type, degree and cause of your hearing loss.
Treatment for your hearing loss depends on the severity of symptoms. Your provider may recommend such things as:
§ Assistive listening devices: This may include cell phone amplifying devices, smartphone apps or closed-circuit systems in auditoriums or places of worship.
§ Hearing aids: The most common treatment for age-related hearing loss. These devices make noises louder and they have adjustable volume settings.
§ Cochlear implants: This is useful with some types of severe hearing loss. These small electronic devices stimulate the auditory nerve (nerve that enables you to hear). The implants are placed during surgery.
Many experts don’t know how to avoid age-related hearing loss. Your best bet: protecting yourself from noise-induced hearing loss. You can do this by avoiding loud environments, such as concerts or sports stadiums; managing conditions like diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure); and turning the volume down on TV and the radio. You can also use earplugs and earmuffs for added protection when you can’t avoid loud noises.
Presbycusis will proceed on a progressive basis meaning that it will get worse over time. You can manage hearing loss with the use of hearing aids or other treatments.
Also, you can seek assistance from family and friends in managing your condition. You can better manage your hearing loss in a variety of ways such as:
§ Informing loved ones of your hearing loss.
§ Asking friends and family to face you when they speak.
§ Letting people know they need to get your attention before engaging in a conversation or use facial cues to help you to better understand, which will require you to face the other person when speaking.
§ Avoiding places with lots of ambient noise, such as restaurants or live music venues.
§ Turning off the TV and radio when not in use.
§ Wearing hearing aids and other devices as directed by your healthcare provider.
§ Being appreciative of someone who goes out of their way to help you.
Age-related hearing loss is a normal part of aging. You can’t prevent it. But you can reduce your exposure to noise-induced hearing loss. Getting the right treatment can help you raise your quality of life.
