Hearing Loss & Aging

By Author: Dr. Victor Marchione
Total Articles: 90
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Hearing loss in adults can be caused by many things. It is true that most hearing loss results from the aging process (called “presbycusis”). Presbycusis actually starts after the age of 20, but it is not usually until the ages of 55 to 65 that the high frequencies in the speech range begin to be affected.
Hearing loss associated with age happens when the inner ear (cochlea), starts to degenerate. Presbycusis is a progressive condition, with the high frequencies affected first, followed by lower and lower frequencies.
However, before we move on to a discussion of these causes, here’s a quick primer about how your ears actually hear when they are healthy.

How You Hear
When you hear something, your ear converts sound waves into electrical signals and causes nerve impulses to be sent to the brain where they are interpreted as sound. Your ear is made up of three parts: the outer, middle and inner ear. Sound waves enter through the outer ear, then reach the middle ear. This is when the sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate.
These vibrations are, in turn, transmitted through three tiny bones, ...
... called “ossicles,” in the middle ear. You can call these three bones by their official names of “malleus,” “incus” and “stapes,” or you can use their more colorful, colloquial names hammer, anvil and stirrup.

This starts the changes that lead to the production of nerve impulses. The nerve impulses are carried to the brain, where you interpret them as sound. Different sounds will stimulate different parts of the inner ear, allowing the brain to distinguish among different vowel and consonant sounds, for example. Like most complex organs in the body, ears are pretty amazing things.

When Sound Waves get Disrupted
So what can go wrong when sound waves first enter your ears? “Otosclerosis” is a disease involving the middle-ear capsule. When there is abnormal bone growth, the movement of the stapes is affected, causing a disruption of sound waves being passed to the inner ear.

What seems to be most troubling with this disease, however, is dealing with the symptoms of vertigo. Vertigo may last for 20 minutes to two hours or longer. During attacks, you may be unable to perform activities that you would normally do without any trouble at all. Sleepiness is often a side effect of feeling dizzy, and it may last for several hours after an attack.
The off-balance sensation that is common among vertigo sufferers may last for days. Attacks can often occur without warning. Sometimes anti-nausea or anti-vertigo medication is prescribed for those with the condition, but these medications can cause drowsiness.
Health experts suggest trying to avoid excess alcohol, stress, fatigue and smoking. It is important to eat properly, get plenty of sleep and remain active if you have this condition.

Hearing Loss & High Cholesterol
Did you know that hearing loss can be linked to high cholesterol? Studies have shown that people with high cholesterol levels have greater hearing loss as they age than people with normal levels do.

On rare occasions, a benign tumor, called an “acoustic neuroma” may be the cause of hearing loss. Acoustic neuromas usually grow in the eighth cranial nerve or the acoustic nerve. The first symptom is reduction of hearing in one ear accompanied by a feeling of fullness. Surgery may be recommended to remove the tumor, but acoustic neuromas tend to be slow-growing and may not cause any serious problems for years.

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