What is the cause of deafness in the elderly?

As we all know, many elderly people are prone to deafness. If there is an elderly person in the family who has good hearing and eyesight, it is a great blessing. This happens with age, but some people suffer from other diseases. Therefore, everyone must not take it lightly. When an elderly person becomes deaf, we must find out the cause. So, what is the reason for deafness in the elderly?

As we age, especially after the age of 50, various organs in the human body begin to age to varying degrees. The basilar membrane of the cochlea, auditory cells and auditory nerve begin to age and atrophy. Among the elderly aged 65 to 75, the incidence of deafness can be as high as about 60%. In addition, endocrine disorders, diabetes, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, etc. in the elderly can aggravate the development of deafness in the elderly.

The main causes of hearing loss in the elderly include long-term exposure to noise, different eating habits, genetic factors, etc. During her routine outpatient clinic visits, Jia Yuezhi discovered that cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are an important cause of hearing loss in the elderly, and are often one of the manifestations of arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and transient cerebral ischemia. A survey shows that 70% of elderly people with deafness suffer from atherosclerosis, and the severity of deafness is positively correlated with the degree of arteriosclerosis. If symptoms such as tinnitus, deafness, and dizziness occur for unexplained reasons, it may indicate that you may have early cardiovascular disease. Because the auditory receptors of the ear are located in the inner ear, the fine structure of the inner ear receptors, like the brain tissue, is intolerant to ischemia and hypoxia, and its tolerance to hypoxia is more sensitive than that of the myocardium. Therefore, once arteriosclerosis occurs, the blood supply to the inner ear will be ischemic due to arteriosclerosis and stenosis, and symptoms such as tinnitus, deafness, and dizziness may occur before any symptoms appear in the circulatory system.

There are three main reasons for presbycusis:

1. Atrophy of cochlear hair cells and fibrosis of the cochlear base membrane

2. Atrophy and degeneration of the vascular striae that nourish hair cells, and decreased blood flow

3. The number of auditory neurons decreases, shrinks, and undergoes vacuolar degeneration.

How do we detect hearing loss in the elderly? They usually speak very loudly; they cannot hear when someone calls them from behind; they have difficulty talking in noisy environments, such as on a bus; they cannot hear the phone ringing or the doorbell; they no longer hear the ticking of the watch, the sound of running water, or the chirping of birds; they need to frequently ask others to repeat what they have said; and they have to concentrate to hear conversations or whispered conversations. Once hearing loss is discovered, you should go to the hospital for examination in time to determine the nature of the disease, receive treatment as soon as possible, and prevent the deafness from worsening.

If there are elderly people at home, you should give them more care and pay attention to their words and actions to see if there is anything unusual. If there is a problem of hearing loss, they should be taken to the hospital for examination and treatment in time to avoid deafness caused by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Talk to the elderly more often to make them feel better.