Presbycusis, another name for Age-related Hearing Loss(ARHL) is the gradual loss of hearing that occur as the people get older. The declination of cochlea or associated structures of the inner ear or auditory nerves is the result of age-related sensorineural hearing loss.
Causes of Presbycusis:
The Tiny hair cells inside the inner ear help us to hear. They take up sound waves and convert them into the nerve signals that the brain interprets as sound. When these tiny hair cells are damaged or die, there occurs a Hearing loss which will be permanent as the hair cells do not regrow.
Particlular cause of age-related hearing loss is unknown yet. Most commonly, it is caused by changes in the inner ear that occur as you become older. Your hereditary genes and loud noise (for instance, from rock concerts or music headphones) may play a large role.
The following factors may be responsible for age-related hearing loss:
- Family history (age-related hearing loss tends to run in families)
- Smoking (smokers are more likely to have such hearing loss than nonsmokers)
- Repeated exposure to loud noises
- Certain medicines, such as chemotherapy drugs for cancer
- Certain medical conditions, such as diabetes
Symptoms:
Loss of hearing often occurs slowly over time.
- Difficulty hearing people around you
- Certain sounds seeming overly loud
- Frequently asking people to repeat themselves
- Problems hearing in noisy areas
- Frustration at not being able to hear
- Problems telling apart certain sounds, such as “s” or “th”
- Ringing in the ears
- More difficulty understanding people with higher-pitched voices
Treatment
There is no cure for age-related hearing loss. Treatment is focused on improving your everyday function. The following may be helpful:
- Sign language (for those with severe hearing loss)
- Hearing aids
- Speech reading (lip reading and using visual cues to aid )
- Telephone amplifiers and other assistive devices
- A cochlear implant may be recommended for people with severe hearing loss. Surgery is done to place the implant. The implant allows the person to detect sounds again and with practice can allow the person to understand speech, but it does not restore normal hearing.