You will experience several changes in the way your body functions as you continue to age. One of these changes might be age-related hearing loss or presbycusis. About 50% of the 65 and above experience a relative degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss due to aging is a common condition that significantly affects older adults.
American Family Home Health Agency, a trusted provider of home health care in Integrity Drive South, Columbus, OH, believes that although the age-related hearing loss is not a life-threatening condition, the noteworthy impacts can affect your older parents’ quality of life especially if it has been left untreated.
This is no known single cause of age-related hearing loss. Factors such as family history, certain medical conditions such as diabetes, certain medicines such as chemotherapy drugs, repeated exposure to loud noises, and smoking can all contribute to the age-related hearing loss.
Having trouble hearing can make it hard to understand and follow a doctor’s advice, hear phones, doorbells, and smoke alarms, and respond to warnings. In addition, it can make it hard to enjoy talking with family and friends leading to feelings of isolation.
Until now, scientists and medical professionals do not know how to prevent age-related hearing loss; but, you can protect yourself from noise-induced hearing loss by protecting your ears from sounds that are too loud and last too long such as lawn mowers, firearms, loud music, snowmobiles, and leaf blowers.
If your elderly loved ones experience most of these, consider visiting an otolaryngologist (a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases of the ear, throat, neck, and nose), an audiologist (a hearing specialist who can perform a hearing test to help determine how much hearing loss has occurred), or your doctor for proper diagnosing and treatment. These could be signs of other medical conditions as well and should be checked out.
- Ringing in the ears
- Asking people to repeat what they say
- Certain sounds may seem overly loud
- Difficulty hearing the difference between “s” and “the” sounds
- Unable to understand conversations over the telephone
- Difficulty hearing in areas that are noisy
- Turning up the volume on the television or radio louder than normal
Get your elders to have a full physical exam to rule out other causes of hearing loss. If your doctor or hearing specialist cannot find any cause for your symptoms, they may diagnose you with age-related hearing loss. Your doctor may recommend:
- Lessons in sign language or lip reading (for severe hearing loss)
- Assistive devices such as telephone amplifiers
- Hearing aids help you hear better
- Cochlear implant – a small electronic device that is surgically implanted into your ear
Since age-related hearing loss is a progressive condition, this means it will get worse over time. Once you lose your hearing, it will be permanent; nevertheless, using assistive devices like hearing aids can improve your quality of life.
Give your elders some help at home amidst their condition; call American Family Home Health Agency today! We provide the finest home health care in Integrity Drive South, Columbus, OH!
