Presbycusis

Question 1

What is Presbycusis?

Answer 1

Hearing loss that affects elderly individuals.

Question 2

How is presbycusis described?

Answer 2

High-frequency hearing is affected bilaterally

Question 3

What is presbycusis due to?

Answer 3

Atrophy of sensory hair cells and neurons in the cochlea

Question 4

What type of hearing loss if presbycusis?

Answer 4

Sensorineural hearing

Question 5

What does the prevalence of presbycusis increase with?

Answer 5

An increase in age

Question 6

What are possible multifactorial causes of presbycusis?

Answer 6

• Arteriosclerosis
• Diabetes: Acceleration of arteriosclerosis
• Exposure to noise
• Drug exposure
• Stress
• Genetic:

Question 7

How can presbycusis present?

Answer 7

• Speech becoming difficult to understand
• Increased volume on the television or radio
• Difficulty using the telephone
• Loss of directionality of sound
• Worsening of symptoms in noisy environments

Question 8

How is presbycusis diagnosed?

Answer 8

• Audiometry

Question 9

What will audiometry of someone with presbycusis show?

Answer 9

Bilateral sensorineural pattern hearing loss