Communicating With A Person Who Has Presbycusis

*Face the person, so they can read your lips if they need to
*Make sure adequate lighting is in front of you to help them observe facial expressions, gestures, & body movement
*Turn off the television and radio, and minimize other loud disturbances
*Don't speak with food or gum in your mouth or cover your mouth with your hands
*Speak slightly louder, but not shouting or yelling
*Inform the person of the conversation topic beforehand
*Rephrase your statements in shorter, simpler sentences if they're not understanding
*In social gatherings, choose seating and conversation areas away from crowded and noisy areas

Treatment

~Reduce the amount of time exposed to everyday noises
~Wear ear plugs or a special type of ear muffs
~Hearing Aids (most older people find these to be the most beneficial to maximize hearing and better understand speech)
~Assistive listening devices such as a built in telephone amplifier
~FM system that makes sounds clearer by delivering sound waves like a radio
~Speech reading, using visual cues to understand what's being said

Presbycusis Audiogram

Diagnosis

*In order to determine the best method of treatment, the individual should meet with an Audiologist to be evaluated and diagnosed with hearing problems or disorders

*Audiologists should conduct a thorough evaluation and determine which type of treatment will be the most helpful

*The Audiologist will then counsel the patient and advise them on the best treatment to improve their listening situations

Causes

~Presbycusis is typically a sensorineural hearing disorder caused by changes in the inner ear associated with aging
~Changes in the middle ear and along the nerve pathways which lead to the brain
~Continuous exposure to daily traffic sounds, construction work, noisy offices, loud equipment, and loud music
~Changes in blood supply to the ear because of heart disease, vascular (blood vessel) conditions associated with diabetes, and circulatory problems
~Could be a conductive hearing loss disorder where loss of sound sensitivity is caused by abnormalities of the outer and middle ear including reduced function of the tympanic membrane, and the malleus, incus, and stapes in the middle ear that carry sound waves from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear

Symptoms

* Sounds begin to seem less clear and decrease in volume
*Difficulty hearing and understanding speech
*Speech sounds mumbled or slurred
*High pitch sounds such as "s" and "th" are hard to hear and tell apart
*Trouble holding conversations, especially with background noise
*A man's voice is easier to hear than a woman's
*Possible tinnitus, ringing in the ears

Characteristics

Presbycusis is characterized as having difficulty hearing high pitched sounds such as birds chirping or a telephone ringing. However, it is much easier to hear lower pitched sounds such as a loud truck driving down the street.

Four Types:
*Sensory- Loss of sensory elements in the basal end of the cochlea
*Neural- Loss of cochlear neurons
*Striatal- Loss of stria vascularis as aging occurs
*Cochlear Conductive- Thickening of the basilar membrane caused by deposition of basophilic substances.

What is Presbycusis?

Presbycusis is the age related hearing loss or the effect of aging on one's hearing. It especially affects the ability to hear high frequency sounds and is a gradual process where both ears are affected equally.

Prevalence:
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 30 - 35 % of adults between ages 65 - 75 have hearing loss and 40 - 50 % of adults age 75 and up have hearing loss.