- Structure of the hearing organ. Background of senile deafness
- Age-related deafness - causes and risk factors
- Symptoms and course of senile deafness
- Age-related deafness - psychological and social aspect
- Age-related deafness - diagnostics
- Prevention of senile deafness
- Treatment of senile deafness
Age-related deafness is a progressive age-related impairment of the functioning of the hearing organ. The aging process of the hearing organ begins around 40-50. age, and the prevalence of senile deafness becomes higher with age. This disease ranks high among the most common diseases of the elderly population - it is estimated that more than half of seniors over 70 years of age suffer from senile deafness. Find out what the first symptoms of senile deafness are, how your doctor makes a diagnosis, and how you can help patients with age-related hearing loss.
Age-related deafnessis primarily a sensorineural hearing loss. The structures of the inner ear, in particular the cochlea and the Corti organ inside it, are the most susceptible to the aging process. Conductive hearing loss, however, can coexist with age-related hearing loss - in older patients, both types of hearing loss often occur simultaneously.
Structure of the hearing organ. Background of senile deafness
ear-structure-and-functions-ear-outer-inner-and-middle-structure-aa-bWJh-LZTc-FHKF.html "target=" _ blank "rel=" follow ">The human hearing organ consists of 3 parts - these are:
Each of them has a separate function in the process of receiving and recognizing sounds coming from the environment. The outer ear, consisting of the pinna and the external auditory canal, "catches" all sounds around, collects them and sends them to the middle ear. At this point, the acoustic wave causes the eardrum to vibrate, which in turn moves the chain of miniature ossicles - in turn, the hammer, anvil and the stirrup. The next stage is the transfer of mechanical vibrations to the structures of the inner ear, which are filled with fluid. The most important element of the inner ear is the cochlea, which contains the actual hearing organ (the so-called Corti organ). The vibrations of the fluid in the inner ear stimulate the hearing cells, which then generate a stimulus transmitted through the auditory nerve to the brain's hearing center, where sound sensations are finally perceived. Structure and functioning of the hearing organ permanentare the basis for distinguishing two basic types of hearing loss: conductive and sensorineural. Conductive hearing loss , as the name suggests, is associated with a disturbance in the conduction of sound waves. It may be caused by pathologies of the external ear (such as an excessive amount of earwax in the external auditory canal), as well as the middle ear (for example, abnormalities in the ossicular chain). Sensorineural hearing lossis associated with further stages of the path of sound stimuli. Disturbance in the perception of sounds may occur at the stage of the cochlea, auditory nerve or cortical hearing center in the temporal lobes of the brain. Despite the high prevalence of the problem of senile deafness, the exact etiological factors of this disease are still unknown. The damage to the hearing organ, which progresses with age, is probably the result of various genetic and systemic factors. In old age, the hair cells are more susceptible to the harmful effects of free radicals, inflammatory factors and local blood circulation disorders. Senile deafness is likely to be associated with cardiovascular diseases such as: The deterioration of hearing in the elderly is also influenced by additional factors, which in slightly different mechanisms lead to damage to the hearing organ. These include, for example, chronic noise exposure and the use of certain classes of drugs. Drugs that can damage the inner ear are called ototoxic drugs. These include : Age-related deafness most often manifests itself in symmetrical, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, especially in the high-pitched range. The first symptoms of senile deafness are difficulties in understanding heard sentences - patients have the impression of "fuzzy", indistinct words, they ask for repeating sentences and accurately emphasizing each word. Older people have a particular problem with understanding quickly spoken sentences and complex expressions that they are not used to. Initially, the hearing impairment is selective and mainly affects high-pitched sounds. This type of hearing loss is characterized by, for example, hearing a female voice worse than a male voice. Patients have difficulty withcommunicating on the phone and interpreting speech in the presence of other sounds (street noise or noise of devices). Family members often notice that seniors are starting to listen to radio and television louder and louder. As the disease progresses, additional auditory phenomena - tinnitus and ringing - may appear in the ears. Damage to the structure of the cochlea results in its over-reactivity, which manifests itself in hypersensitivity to certain sounds. Patients then perceive some common noises as extremely loud and unpleasant. Due to demographic changes and gradual aging of the society, senile deafness is becoming a problem affecting more and more patients. With age, hearing loss has a number of consequences. Older people may feel isolated from society and avoid establishing relationships as a result of their difficulties in understanding sounds and words from the environment. As a result, senile deafness can lead to the development of cognitive impairment and depression. Difficulties in the social functioning of patients deepen their sense of disability and disturb the performance of daily activities. The diagnosis of senile deafness is preceded by collecting a detailed medical history and a series of examinations of the hearing organ. Their goal is to rule out other, potentially reversible causes of the hearing loss. While talking to the patient, the doctor may ask questions about other hearing symptoms - for example, earache or dizziness. Drugs that may damage the inner ear are an important issue now and in the past. The basic test used to diagnose the type and degree of hearing loss is tonal audiometry. The audiometric test is performed in a specially soundproofed cabin. The patient is wearing headphones through which the examiner makes sounds of varying volume and frequency. The patient's task is to signal (using a special button) the sounds he hears. On this basis, an audiogram is drawn, i.e. a graph showing the threshold of audibility of sounds as well as air and bone conduction curves. In the case of senile deafness, the examination shows sensorineural hearing loss in the range of high frequencies of sounds. The second type of audiometric test performed in the diagnosis of senile deafness is verbal audiometry. As in tone audiometry, the test is performed in muted modecabin. The patient is wearing headphones, through which no sounds are given this time, but specific words. The respondent's task is to repeat them. The test result shows the percentage of words understood by the patient at certain loudness levels. Verbal audiometry testing allows conclusions to be drawn regarding the patient's ability to communicate and social functioning. If there are medical indications, diagnostics can be extended to include additional tests to detect other causes of hearing loss. One of them is tympanometry, which is a test that assesses the function of the eardrum and middle ear. Imaging tests, such as MRI of the head, may be useful in the differential diagnosis. Thanks to it, it is possible to detect intracranial changes that may lead to hearing impairment. Another examination of the hearing organ is the so-called auditory evoked potentials. Its purpose is to assess the conduction of impulses in the auditory pathway from the auditory nerve to the cortical hearing center in the temporal lobe. The diagnosis of senile deafness is made in the case of typical symptoms, the results of audiometric tests (bilateral, symmetrical hearing loss in the high frequency range) and after excluding other possible causes of the hearing loss. Unfortunately, there are no methods that would prevent the aging of the hearing organ in 100%. Certainly, an important element of the prevention of this disease is a he althy lifestyle and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, atherosclerosis and diabetes) through a balanced diet and physical activity. It is also worth preventing other hearing damage, the effects of which may be cumulative with senile deafness. Avoid chronic exposure to noise and minimize the use of medications that may damage the hearing organs. Damage to hair cells caused by aging is a progressive and irreversible process. Unfortunately, there are no methods that can regenerate the hearing organ. So far, no drugs have been approved for senile deafness, although many pharmacological agents are under research. There are, however, many options for hearing aids on the market. These are hearing aids that can now be programmed to improve hearing at certain frequencies (those most affected by hearing loss). In some cases of very advanced, profound hearing loss, it is possible to use prosthesishearing organs with the help of the so-called cochlear implant. Read more articles by this author
Age-related deafness - causes and risk factors
Symptoms and course of senile deafness
Age-related deafness - psychological and social aspect
Age-related deafness - diagnostics
Prevention of senile deafness
Treatment of senile deafness
Krzysztof BialaziteA medical student at Collegium Medicum in Krakow, slowly entering the world of constant challenges of the doctor's work. She is particularly interested in gynecology and obstetrics, paediatrics and lifestyle medicine. A lover of foreign languages, travel and mountain hiking.