Gradual Hearing Loss



Do you find yourself saying "What?" all the time? Or does your family complain you keep the TV on too loud? For most people, hearing loss silently creeps up on them. In older people, this type of hearing loss, medically known as PRESBYCUSIS, is quite common, occuring in 75% of people over the age of 60, and affects more men than women. The hearing loss may progress so slowly that you do not realize it until you are using your eyes to read other people's lips more than you are using your ears to listen to them speak.

People with presbycusis usually have impaired hearing in both ears and have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds. Fortunately, presbycusis seldom ends in total deafness.

Hearing loss is not just an "old folks' disorder." Gradual hearing loss does occur in young people and can be a sign of otosclerosis. Indeed, this ear condition, which can begin in the teens, is the leading cause of hearing loss in young adults. 

Young white middle-class women are at risk for otosclerosis, and hormonal changes during pregnancy may worsen the condition. While otosclerosis usually occurs in both ears, sometimes it affects only one, especially in men. The exact cause of otosclerosis is unclear, although it is thought to be a hereditary condition.

Gradual hearing loss may also be sounding an alarm that you have been working or playing in very noisy places. In fact, frequenting loud restaurants or working in a typical factory, both of which have decibel levels around 85, is enough to ruin your hearing over time. By comparison, the decibel level of a jet engine hovers at 140 and a rock concert can reach 150.

In addition, slowly progressing hearing loss may be a wake-up call that any number of medical conditions may be brewing, including hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and kidney disease. Hearing loss in one ear, particularly if you have ringing in the ears and dizziness, may be a sign of Acoustic Neuroma, a tumor on the nerve that controls hearing; it is noncancerous but can be life-threatening.

Men are forever being accused of not listening to the women in their lives. Now there is scientific basis for this charge. According to a government survey, men do indeed have poorer hearing than women. The researchers also found that black adults had keener hearing than white adults.