Ageing ears and hearing loss

Submitted by Emma Hamilton on Sun, 05/10/2008 - 11:07pm

Our ears enable us to hear and maintain our balance. As we age, changes occur to the structure of our ears that affect hearing. These changes occur naturally due to the ageing process, illness and prolonged exposure to loud noise.

Detecting hearing loss

Hearing loss can happen slowly, creating many obstacles in daily life. Unfortunately, many people fail to get help.

Difficulty hearing may mean a person cannot communicate with family and friends, talk on the telephone or understand what the doctor is saying. Older people with hearing problems can become socially isolated or even be mistaken for being confused or difficult.

If you are caring for someone with difficulty hearing, encourage them to see a doctor. Hearing problems can get worse over time. A doctor may refer a person to an audiologist. An audiologist will conduct a hearing test to measure the extent of a person's hearing loss.

Fortunately, age related hearing loss can be improved with the use of hearing aids and assistive listening devices. Older people may need assistance caring for hearing aid devices and help getting to a hearing specialist. A carer can also help someone with hearing loss by learning effective ways of communicating.

Types of hearing loss

Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound is blocked from the outer ear to the inner ear. A person experiences loss of volume, often hearing faint sounds. Conductive hearing loss can usually be improved through medical or surgical intervention.

Common causes of conductive hearing loss include:

Build-up of ear wax
Foreign object in the ear
Middle ear infection 'glue ear'
Malformation on the outer ear, inner ear, ear canal or middle ear
Punctured ear drum

Sensorineural hearing loss happens when there is damage to the inner ear, auditory nerve or the brain. People with sensorineural hearing loss experience a reduction in the volume and clarity of sound.

This type of hearing loss is caused by many factors. Damage to the ears can be related to ageing, exposure to loud noise, infection, illness, medications, heredity and head injury.

A person can also have mixed hearing loss, a combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss.