Aging and Hearing Health: The Life-course Approach (original) (raw)

Abstract

Sensory abilities decline with age. More than 5% of the world's population, approximately 360 million people, have disabling hearing loss. In adults, disabling hearing loss is defined by thresholds greater than 40 dBHL in the better hearing ear.Hearing disability is an important issue in geriatric medicine because it is associated with numerous health issues, including accelerated cognitive decline, depression, increased risk of dementia, poorer balance, falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality. There are also social implications, such as reduced communication function, social isolation, loss of autonomy, impaired driving ability, and financial decline. Furthermore, the onset of hearing loss is gradual and subtle, first affecting the detection of high-pitched sounds and with difficulty understanding speech in noisy but not in quiet environments. Consequently, delays in recognizing and seeking help for hearing difficulties are common. Age-related hearing loss has no known cur...

Figures (3)

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Figure 1. The International Classification of Functioning and Disability (ICF) framework [WHO (2001)].

Figure 2. Possible association between hearing impairment and impaired cognitive and physical functioning in older adults (Lin & Albert, 2014).

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In adults aged 65 years and older, prevalence of hearing impairment decreases exponentially as income increases (Figure 3). In developed countries, ARHL is very prevalent; The most studied environmental risk factor for hearing loss in adulthood is exposure to industrial, recreational, military, and social or community noise. The global bur- den of d isabling noise-induced hearing loss is estimated to be as high as 16% (Nelson, Nelson, Concha-Barrientos, & Fingerhut, 2005). Even though hearing loss caused by expo- sure to mendati oud sound is preventable, compliance with recom- ons regarding use of ear protection for those at risk of occupational exposure, or for leisure-related exposures is generally low (Bogoch, House, & Kudla, 2005; Dobie, 2008). 7 [o a certain extent, the hazards of industrial noise have been reduced over the last four decades with the intro- duction of hearing conservation regulations, the increasing automation of work. and the shift from noisier industrial Figure 3. Relationship between prevalence of hearing loss in adults aged 65 and older gross national income (WHO: Mortality and burden of disease, 2012).

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