February Issue: Age-Related Hearing Loss

Reviewing Age-Related Hearing Loss - Presbycusis

Imagine your daily life. Your alarm clock rudely wakes you from slumber, the sound of egg sizzling against oil when you make breakfast, the beep of your car as you pull out of the driveway—our lives are full of sounds, sounds we often take for granted. Our ability to hear these sounds (both pleasant and annoying) deteriorates with age in a process known as presbycusis. In this paper, our research team will be going over the causes, signs and symptoms, effects, and treatment options for presbycusis.

Nature leaves its mark on our bodies in weathered ways, deteriorating our once robust abilities and leaving us with half of the capabilities as we previously had. An example of an age-related condition is presbycusis, which causes hearing loss. Presbycusis is relatively common, affecting about ⅔ of adults over the age of 70. Its prevalence establishes it as the most common type of hearing loss in older adults, as its muffled and distorted effects are felt by a majority of older adults. One topic of interest is the causes of presbycusis and how these triggers manifest themselves to present the condition.