What you need to know about age-related hearing loss



Hearing problems can affect people of all ages. How-ever, age-related hearing loss, or presbycusis, affects nearly half of all people who are 75 and older. Here’s what you need to know about hearing..


Hearing problems can affect people of all ages. How-ever, age-related hearing loss, or presbycusis, affects nearly half of all people who are 75 and older. Here’s what you need to know about hearing loss as you get older.

 

Cell degeneration

As you age, the tiny hair cells inside your ear can become damaged or die. Unfortunately, this causes progressive hearing loss.

However, hearing issues can also develop if the nerve pathways that carry information to your brain become less efficient. This can occur as a result of hereditary factors as well as various health conditions and taking certain medications.

In addition, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease can accelerate hearing loss.

High-pitched sounds

Cell degeneration mainly affects the part of your ear responsible for hearing high-pitched sounds. Conse-quently, if you have presbycusis, you may be able to hear low-pitched noises but not register high-pitched ones. Your brain will therefore need to work extra hard to fill in the information gaps, which can make communication difficult.

Regrettably, age-related hearing loss is permanent. However, solutions like wearing hearing aids can improve your quality of life.

To have your hearing tested, consult an audiologist.


4 Vieillissement et perte d’audition : ce qu’il faut savoir

pour vous protéger du froid

Les problèmes d’audition peuvent toucher des individus de tous âges. Cependant, le vieillissement augmente les risques de développer une perte auditive : il s’agit alors de presbyacousie. Apprenez-en plus sur ce phénomène qui affecte près de la moitié des personnes de 75 ans et plus.

Dégénérescence des cellules

Avec le vieillissement, certaines cellules situées à l’intérieur du principal organe de l’audition, la cochlée, s’endommagent ou vont jusqu’à mourir. Les plus touchées entraînent une perte d’audition progressive des hautes fréquences aux deux oreilles. Cette perte peut également être causée par une diminution de l’efficacité du tympan et des osselets ou des voies nerveu-ses chargées d’ache-miner l’information au cerveau. Di--v-ers facteurs, tels que le diabète, l’hypertension et la prise de certains médicaments, peu-vent accélérer les problèmes de surdité.

Difficultés liées

aux sons aigus

La dégénérescence des cellules se concentre principalement sur celles qui sont responsables de l’écoute des sons aigus. La personne atteinte de presbyacousie peut donc entendre les sons graves, mais ne pas percevoir les sons aigus dans certains mots. Son cerveau doit ainsi combler les vides dans les termes incompris, ce qui rend la communication plus difficile.

La perte d’audition liée au vieillissement est permanente. Néanmoins, diverses solutions (appareils auditifs, stratégies de communication, etc.) peuvent compenser ce problème. Consultez un audiologiste pour faire vérifier votre ouïe et en apprendre plus sur ces solutions qui peuvent simplifier votre quotidien!

 

Article by:

Chateau Glengarry Retirement a retirement community located in Alexandria, Ontario.
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