This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Presbyacusis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Presbyacusis is the progressive, sensorineural hearing loss that occurs with age. It is typically bilateral and symmetrical, and is very common after 55 years of age. It results from a gradual loss of cochlea hair cells and degeneration in the cochlea nerve.

Characteristically, high frequency perception is lost making it difficult to understand speech. The loss is particularly disabling as most consonants are in the high frequency range. Words may merge into one another so that speech is muffled.

Individuals can usually cope with conversation on a one to one basis, but their hearing is useless in crowded rooms as their limited high frequency perception is overwhelmed by the barrage of low frequency sound.

The dynamic range of hearing is also reduced due to the phenomenon of recruitment, which explains why shouting at these individuals usually worsens their hearing.


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.