Our lives are filled with sounds: the voices of our family and friends, the music we love, the traffic we hate, and the downpours that lull us to sleep. But after a few years of noise, the mechanisms in our ears that allow us to listen to and listen to well can start to wear down.
Hearing loss or seeing a loved one lose their hearing may be very distressing. And while age-related hearing loss comes on step by step, the belief that you would be able to’t hear in addition to you used to can hit you suddenly.
But the excellent news is that there are numerous treatment options available for age-related hearing loss – also called presbycusis – to preserve your hearing and live a full life.
What’s presbycusis?
Presbycusis, which is derived from the Greek words for “old” and “hearing,” is the medical term for age-related hearing loss.
Your ear is liable for absorbing sound waves and converting them into electrical impulses that your brain can then interpret. As we age, the parts of our ear involved on this process begin to deteriorate, mainly the cochlea within the inner ear.
Age-related hearing loss shouldn’t be confused with noise-induced hearing loss, although each can occur together and each are kinds of sensorineural hearing loss. Where age-related hearing loss is attributable to aging, noise-induced hearing loss is attributable to prolonged exposure to loud sounds that damage the ear, no matter age.
Causes of age-related hearing loss
Age-related hearing loss often develops within the inner ear, which incorporates the cochlea. The cochlea is a spiral, hole bone full of fluid. When sound waves enter the inner ear, they cause the fluid contained in the cochlea to undulate, which in turn moves tiny hair cells called stereocilia attached to the inner surface of the cochlea. Consider the ribbons of seaweed on the ocean floor flowing with the tides.
The movement of those tiny stereocilia cells produces electrical impulses which might be sent to the brain. Our brain then translates these electrical impulses into sound. Lifelong exposure to sound and the traditional aging process can damage stereocilia, causing them to deteriorate and die.
With fewer stereocilia cells, the electrical impulses they produce usually are not as strong or as quite a few as they ought to be to properly transmit sound to the brain.
Presbycusis risk aspects
Hearing loss is a traditional a part of aging and typically begins in most individuals of their sixties. Nevertheless, there are specific aspects that may exacerbate and speed up age-related hearing loss:
- Genetics: While almost everyone experiences a point of hearing loss as they age, some people could have a genetic predisposition to early onset of presbycusis or hearing decline more quickly.
- Anxieties: Some medications may be “ototoxic” or harmful to the ears and hearing ability. These ototoxic drugs may cause tinnitus and balance problems in addition to worsen presbycusis. Common ototoxic drugs include chemotherapy drugs, aminoglycoside antibiotics, and NSAIDs.
- Hypertension and diabetes: Conditions that affect blood pressure, comparable to hypertension and diabetes (amongst others), can affect hearing since the tiny hair cells within the cochlea depend on a healthy blood supply.
Symptoms of age-related hearing loss
The symptoms of age-related hearing loss are very just like the symptoms of other kinds of hearing loss. But age-related hearing loss is at all times gradual and at all times occurs equally in each ear.
The very gradual progression of presbycusis means your pals and family members stands out as the first to note the change in your hearing. But a number of the commonest symptoms of presbycusis you could notice include:
- Hearing problems when talking to multiple person, especially in crowded, bustling places.
- You will have trouble distinguishing common consonants comparable to s, h, f, th and sh.
- Voices seem muffled, especially the upper voices of ladies and kids.
- Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds comparable to microwave beeping, birds chirping, telephone ringing, or someone’s voice on the opposite end.
- Experiencing tinnitus, which is ringing, roaring or hissing within the ears.
- The necessity to turn the TV or radio louder than others may have to listen to comfortably.
It is important to handle presbycusis immediately, as leaving it untreated for a very long time may cause more severe hearing loss and ultimately result in a poorer quality of life.
How age-related hearing loss is diagnosed
If you happen to think you could be experiencing presbycusis, a very good first step is to seek advice from your GP. They’ll perform a physical examination of the ears using an otoscope, which is a lighted magnifying device. Sometimes hearing loss is attributable to excess earwax within the ear canal. That is one type of conductive hearing loss that may often be resolved by removing the earwax.
Your primary care physician may refer you to an audiologist, an authority who focuses on ear and hearing health, for a hearing test. A hearing test will allow your audiologist to evaluate your current hearing ability and recommend the most effective treatment option for you.
Or in the event you need more advanced look after a medical condition that could be contributing to your hearing problems, your GP can connect you to an ENT specialist.
Treatment options for age-related hearing loss
Hearing aids are the primary and typically best treatment option for age-related hearing loss, followed by cochlear implants in additional advanced cases. Many other available treatment options are useful along with hearing aids and cochlear implants.
Along with hearing aids and cochlear implants, there are several other treatment options for individuals with age-related hearing loss to assist them hear the world around them higher.
Hearing aids
- Hearing loop systems: The auditory loop is a network of wires built into the ground or ceiling of a room. The wires pick up sounds from the realm – often through a microphone – and send them on to hearing aids and cochlear implants which might be inside a certain range and tuned to the telecoil or ‘T’ mode. The ear loop helps you get clearer sound that’s isolated from background noise. While many places have yet to implement hearing loops, a growing variety of concert halls, theaters, lecture theaters, transit centers and government buildings have hearing loops installed.
- FM systems: The FM system includes each an amplification device and a receiver that plugs right into a cochlear implant or hearing aid. When the amplification device is worn by another person, often across the neck, their voice is clearer within the earpiece. FM systems are commonly utilized in educational environments where a teacher or lecturer wears an amplification device, but FM may be used each time you ought to hear someone’s speech higher. Similar devices are called one-to-one communicators.
- Infrared systems: An infrared system can convert sound waves into light waves and transmit them to a headset receiver or on to a hearing aid or cochlear implant. This may be especially useful when watching TV with others, as with the infrared system you’ll be able to set the quantity to a level that’s comfortable for everybody and still be heard by individuals with hearing impairments.
- Personal Amplifiers: A private amplifier is a tool that makes all nearby sounds louder and transmits them to a receiver. The receiver may be connected to plain headphones or earbuds. Some kinds of personal amplifiers are manufactured to look an identical to hearing aids. Nevertheless, personal amplifiers cannot and shouldn’t replace hearing aids. While personal amplifiers amplify all sounds, hearing aids are tuned to only amplify specific frequencies that you just cannot hear. It’s higher in your hearing health in the long term.
Auxiliary and alternative technique of communication
- TDD machines: A telecommunications device for the hearing impaired (TDD), also often called a TTY (teletypewriter), is a tool that means that you can send text messages over a landline phone. These devices are especially useful when coping with emergency services. Latest mobile phones are equipped with TDD and TTY functions.
- Speech to text: There are several devices and applications available that may convert speech to text in real time. These transcription services allow individuals with hearing impairments to effectively take part in a conversation and interact with others within the moment.
Speech reading
Some individuals with age-related hearing loss may find training in speech reading, also commonly often called lip reading, useful. Speech reading can allow you to recognize spoken words based on the speaker’s mouth movements. An audiologist or speech therapist can provide training and resources for reading speech.
Methods to prevent age-related hearing loss
Since presbycusis is a traditional a part of aging, there’s really no approach to prevent it. Once these tiny stereocilia within the cochlea begin to deteriorate, they don’t regrow or regenerate. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to reduce the impact of age-related hearing loss – and slow its onset and progression – by protecting your ears for all times with a number of preventive measures.
- Wear appropriate hearing protection, comparable to earplugs or earmuffs, in noisy places
- Keep the quantity low when listening to music or other sounds through the earbuds
- Manage diabetes and keep blood pressure low
Consult with your GP about your concerns about hearing loss
If you happen to suspect you could be experiencing presbycusis, talking to your GP about your symptoms is an ideal place to start out. If you happen to need a hearing test, our empathetic audiologists can examine your hearing and advise you on treatment options.