Deterioration of hearing like other senses begins early and continues as we grow older. The degree of decline differs across individuals, much as the degree of decline for other physical systems. It is related to heredity, genetics, aging and environmental factors. This does not mean that hearing loss should be accepted passively – especially not when it affects one’s quality of life and communication with family and friends. Surprisingly many older adults in particular live with a hearing loss for years – even when help is within easy reach.

Reduction in hearing is often considered a common part of aging. The medical term used to describe this is presbycusis. If your mother or father has hearing loss it is likely that you will also. However, environmental factors may play a role in hearing loss as well. While hereditary/genetic factors, to a large degree cannot be changed, we do have control over environmental factors. The biggest environmental factor involved in hearing decline is noise. Noise particularly affects the sensory (hair) cells within the cochlea. If you have ever attended a concert where loud music was played you may have experience a “muffled sensation” upon leaving the concert. This is known as temporary threshold shift. Loud music has the effect of “flattening” the hair cells and causing a temporary loss of hearing. Allowing the ears to rest after the concert will result in a recovery of the threshold shift. If you allow your ears to be exposed to loud sounds repeatedly, permanent threshold shift will ensue leaving you with a permanent loss of hearing. Initially, you may not experience significant problems. You may find yourself misunderstanding certain sounds, making confusions between ”s”, “f” and “th” sounds and feeling that you can hear, but not understand. Initial noise exposure results in loss of high frequency (high-pitched) sounds. With repeated exposure, there is a greater range of frequencies that are affected. When an individual notices that he must ask people to repeat things more and more frequently, at this point it may be time to consider amplification.