Common Causes of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is common in the elderly. Losing the ability to hear well can make it difficult for a senior to interact with the world around them. It can make conversations with others frustrating, and it can reduce a person’s ability to hear important sounds that act as warning signals for when something is wrong. Hearing loss may mean your loved one can no longer hear the ambulance siren behind her asking her to move her vehicle to the side. She might not be able to hear the timer from the stove letting her know her dinner is done, creating a burnt dinner and possibly even starting a kitchen fire. Hearing loss is both a nuisance and a danger. Here are a few common causes of hearing loss, and how home care can support your senior who may be experiencing it.

Common Causes of Hearing Loss

Presbycusis

Many elderly people lose their hearing because of presbycusis, which is simply put, age-related hearing loss. With this condition, the hearing loss starts slowly and it may take several years before your loved one even notices she’s had a reduction in her hearing because she’s just gradually started adjusting to turning up the volume on items around the home and avoiding situations where it’s hard to hear clearly.

Changes in the inner ear seem to be the reason behind presbycusis but the exact cause is not known. It might be because of the loss of hair cells in the inner ear which are sensory receptors, or other changes to the auditory nerve, whose main function is to share signals from the ear to the brain.

With presbycusis, hearing loss usually affects both ears the same, making conversations hard to hear, high-pitched noises impossible to detect, and overly loud noises painful to experience.

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, or sudden deafness, occurs when there is a very quick loss of hearing. It is often unexplained and happens over a few days or immediately. It most often occurs when a person wakes up in the morning and reports that she cannot hear out of one ear, and it doesn’t improve upon getting up and moving around. It can happen in one ear or both and should be immediately looked at by a doctor to determine the cause and treatment.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a constant sound in the ears that doesn’t have an outside source. Some people describe it as ringing, some as a buzzing, and others as a roaring sound. Depending on how loud this internal sound is, it can deaden the actual sounds of the surrounding world, making it difficult for them to be understood. It’s not a serious condition but can reduce the quality of life when it becomes severe.

Home Care Providers Can Help Your Loved One Live with Hearing Loss

All hearing loss should be evaluated by your loved one’s otolaryngologist to help her find the best solutions. If hearing loss is extreme, having a home care provider in the home may help your loved one manage her day safely in regard to hearing. A home care provider can help with meals to make sure no timers or alarms are missed and can help with conversations that need to occur either on the phone or in person. A home care provider can also show your loved one how to use closed captioning on her electronics so that she can still enjoy her favorite programs.

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in St. Louis Park, MN and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.