What is Presbycusis?

If you suspect that you may be experiencing any type of hearing loss, it is critical to make sure that you get the help you need from an audiologist. There are many different types of hearing loss, and so the treatment you receive will be based on the type of hearing loss you have. Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common, which is also known as presbycusis hearing loss. Essentially, this is age-related hearing loss, and most cases tend to happen in people that are 65-year-old or older. With that in mind, below, we are going to look at everything you need to know about presbycusis so that you can get a better understanding.

What Causes People to Experience Presbycusis?

The first thing that we need to consider is what causes age-related hearing loss. There can be a lot of different causes. In most cases, it tends to happen in three different locations, within the middle ear, within the inner ear and along the nerve pathways to your brain. Some of the different reasons why you may end up experiencing this type of hearing loss include ageing, inherited factors, loss of hair cells, various health conditions, continual loud noise exposure and side effects of certain types of medication, including a number of different antibiotics and aspirin. 

Presbycusis Treatment Will Differ Based on Several Factors

Now that you have a good understanding of what presbycusis is, we are going to take a look at some of the different treatment options that are available to you. It is important to stress that your audiologist is going to figure out the best treatment for you based on a number of different factors. This includes your age, how long the condition is expected to last, how well you can handle certain therapies, procedures or medications, as well as how sick you are, your medical history and your overall health. Of course, your preference and opinion will also come into play. 

Getting the Treatment That You Need for Presbycusis

Some of the different treatment options for age-related hearing loss include techniques in the prevention of excess wax in the outer ear, as well as training in speechreading to utilize visual cues to figure out what is being said. Hearing aids are also common when it comes to presbycusis, as are assistive devices. Some of the popular assistive devices that are available today include technology that converts speech into text, as well as telephone amplifiers.

We hope that this has helped you to get a better understanding of this hearing condition and the impact of it. If you suspect you may be experiencing presbycusis or any other form of hearing loss, the best thing to do is get in touch with an audiologist as soon as possible who will be able to assist you. They will determine whether you have this condition and the best course of treatment.