Topic > Hearing Loss in Adults

Small hair cells inside the inner ear help you hear. They collect sound waves and transform them into nerve signals that the brain interprets as sound. Hearing loss occurs when tiny hair cells become damaged or die. Hair cells DO NOT regrow, so most hearing loss caused by hair cell damage is permanent. There is no single known cause of age-related hearing loss. Most commonly, it is caused by changes in the inner ear that occur as we age. Your genes and loud noise (from rock concerts or music headphones) can play a big role. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The following factors contribute to age-related hearing loss: Family history (age-related hearing loss tends to run in families) Repeated exposure to loud noises Smoking (smokers are more likely to suffer from such hearing loss compared to non-smokers)Certain medical conditions, such as diabetesCertain medications, such as chemotherapy drugs for cancerAge-related hearing loss is a natural part of the aging process.As people age years, our hearing decreases. The treatment for age-related hearing loss is hearing aids. However, researchers believe that music and our eating habits can delay or reduce age-related hearing loss. One of the main causes of hearing loss is aging. Hearing loss is a natural consequence of aging. As we age, the hair cells in the inner ear begin to die, and as more and more hair cells die, our hearing gets worse and worse. This happens to all of us and we all begin to lose our hearing when we are in our 30s and 40s. Some people lose their hearing and experience age-related hearing loss earlier and more quickly than others. Around the age of 50 we see more and more people suffering from age-related hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss is especially common among people in their 60s and 70s. Age-related hearing loss is also called presbycusis. The treatment for age-related hearing loss is always hearing aids. Age-related hearing loss and GPs A study has shown that Australian GPs play only a minor role when it comes to identifying age-related hearing loss. Australian researchers have found that levels of identification and management of hearing loss by GPs in Australia are relatively low and there appear to be relatively few cases where hearing loss is identified opportunistically. Data from a previous study showed that only about 3 in 1,000 GP consultations with patients over the age of 50 involved management of age-related hearing loss. Musical training A study suggests that musical training from an early age could explain why older musicians have better hearing than non-musicians. An American scientist has shown that the brain can be trained to overcome some age-related hearing losses and that people for whom music has been part of their lives since childhood have an advantage in distinguishing a consonant from a 'other. Folate can reduce hearing. lossSurveys indicate that folate may benefit hearing. According to an Australian study, low levels of folate in the blood are associated with a 35% increased risk of hearing loss. Folateit is the natural source of vitamin B9. This study supports the link between B vitamins and hearing. Researchers at the University of Sydney looked at blood levels of folate, vitamin B12 and homocysteine ​​and correlated them with the risk of age-related hearing loss. In 2009, researchers revealed that men over the age of 60 with a high intake of folate from foods and supplements had a 20 percent decrease in risk of developing hearing loss. In 2007, in a study of 728 men and women aged 50 to 70, scientists reported that folic acid supplements delayed age-related hearing loss in the low-frequency region. Calorie restriction can also delay age-related hearing loss. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US have managed to delay age-related hearing loss in mice by limiting their calorie intake. Experiments on mice showed that a 25% reduction in calories activated a single enzyme, Sirt3, which helped preserve hearing. Although the diet delayed hearing loss at various frequencies in normal mice, it did not work at all in mice lacking Sirt3. As you age, the outer part of the ear canal thins while the earwax becomes drier and stickier. This increases the risk of affected wax. Additionally, the eardrum may thicken, but the most significant changes occur in the cochlea, such as the loss of sensory cells and degenerative changes in the nerve fibers that carry information from the sensory cells to the brain. These are the main types of hearing loss and their causes. With this type of hearing loss, hearing is muffled. It is generally caused by a build-up of earwax, which blocks the ear canal and prevents sound from entering. Your primary care doctor can diagnose and remove the wax if there is excessive buildup. It is normal for all ears to have some earwax as this helps protect the external ear canal. Other causes of conductive hearing loss include infections of the skin lining the ear canal, fluid in the middle ear, arthritis affecting the ear bones, or a hole in the eardrum. None of these causes are very common in older people. A condition that affects older adults and causes conductive hearing loss is Paget's disease of bone. This is the most common type of hearing loss in older adults. It is usually caused by changes or damage to the hair cells and/or nerves of the cochlea. The main cause is age, but excessive exposure to noise and ototoxicity (damage to the inner ear caused by drugs or chemicals) can also contribute. Other causes of sensorineural hearing loss include genetic or blood vessel problems (including those related to diabetes). More rarely, sensorineural hearing loss may be related to: occupational and environmental factors such as chemical exposures to some autoimmune diseases nerve infections such as herpes and flu cigarette smoking. Older adults with the following conditions are more likely to suffer from hearing loss: dementiadiabetescerebrovascular disease (conditions that affect blood flow to the brain) Dual sensory impairment (for example, loss of vision and hearing at the same time) is significant. problem for at least 30% of elderly people. One type of sensorineural hearing loss, called “central hearing loss,” occurs when you lose the ability to understand speech in situations such as the presence of conflicting noise, conflicting conversations, or in environments where sound can echo. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (loss that occurs within 72 hours) often has no identifiable cause. The..