Hearing loss

A sure sign that you’re becoming hard of hearing, is that you start noticing that people mumble. And they do—it just wasn’t an issue before. When Ludwig Van Beethoven went deaf he was still able to create music and play music. However, although he could “hear” his music, he still could not hear the applause of his audience.

Hearing loss in older age has repercussions beyond individual sensory loss.  Those close to you start to get irritated with you. Some might stop talking to you altogether.  As frustrating as this may be for you, remember that it is also frustrating for friends and family members. Hearing plays a key part in how we communicate—talking on the phone, listening to the television or radio, and our daily face-to-face conversations. Loss of hearing creates difficulties in our primary means of communicating. Even so, the difficulty of accepting change—and especially change in our personal health—causes many people to blame anything and everything before admitting that their hearing isn’t what it used to be. But if these symptoms are familiar, you may need help.

Late-onset deafness—after age 65—usually results from diminished functionality in the middle ear. There are two primary causes. One is an erosion of microscopic blood vessels in the middle ear causes hearing loss but often does not affect the individual's ability to hear and understand speech.

The second degeneration is caused by loss of the ear's tiny 'hair' cells—known clinically as presbycusis. Presbycusis can have a more serious affect on the ability to understand speech. Vital components of speech sounds, usually the higher pitched consonants which define speech, become indistinguishable. For this reason many people first experience difficulty in understanding women and children—and since men are more likely than women to have hearing impairment, this can and does create psychological friction. Lower pitched male voices are often easier to hear and comprehend. As hearing deteriorates, the ability to understand speech becomes more severely affected.

While Whites and Latinos have a higher prevalence of hearing problems than Blacks, sensory impairments create a substantial problem for older Americans in general: One out of four has impaired hearing, and hearing impairments double from age 70 to age 80.  As U.S. life expectancy increases, the prevalence of hearing impairments among older adults will increase—impacting our ability to maintain independence, health, and quality of life.

Some people may have a genetic predisposition to hearing loss.  For others, diet and lifestyle may play a role. For example, exposure to noise or pressure, such as diving or flying, in one’s earlier years will hasten the onset of noticeable hearing loss. Other factors including osteoporosis and diuretic medications may also contribute directly to diminished hearing.

Vanity plays a major barrier to acknowledging that our hearing is not what it used to be and that we need hearing aids. Hearing aids have improved, but still noticeable and the quality remains a compromise. But successful aging means understanding our limitations, and overcoming them. Aging is a privilege, attesting to the fact that we have surmounted many of the inconvenient barriers that life has thrown at us.