Presbycusis is the term used to describe the slow and progressive type of hearing loss that comes along with aging. At age 65, approximately one in every three persons has hearing loss. At age 75, half of the people have hearing loss. This condition happens gradually and often affects both ears. In the beginning, one may not even realize that they have this condition because of its gradual occurrence. At first, they may have problems with recognizing some sounds due to some other factors, such as background noise. Some reasons can affect hearing loss in this case. These are gunshots, power tools, very loud music, industrial machinery, etc. Basically, anything that is loud affects hearing. Presbycusis is genetically determined.
Common Symptoms of Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis):
- Bilateral Progression: Hearing loss typically occurs at the same rate in both ears.
- High-Frequency Decline: Difficulty or inability to hear high-pitched sounds, such as birds chirping or phone ringtones.
- Speech Clarity: Conversational speech may sound slurred or mumbled.
- Consonant Confusion: High-frequency consonant sounds like “s,” “f,” “sh,” and “th” become difficult to distinguish.
- Gender Pitch Variance: A noted difficulty in hearing female or children’s voices compared to lower-pitched male voices.
- Background Noise Challenges: Increased difficulty following conversations in noisy environments, such as restaurants or social gatherings.
- Tinnitus: The presence of a persistent ringing, buzzing, or hissing sound in the ears.
- Sound Sensitivity: Hypersensitivity to certain loud or sharp noises, which may become particularly annoying or uncomfortable.
- Presbycusis can be treated with the use of a hearing aid.
