The condition of age-related hearing loss, commonly known as (presbycusis), affects people as they get older. This is one of the most serious issues that elderly people encounter in their lives. According to studies, one out of every three persons in the United States has a hearing issue by the age of 65. This makes it difficult for them to follow instructions and even heed the doctor's advise, let alone grasp information (Rosenhall, 2015). Furthermore, relatives and friends encounter difficulties in dealing with the individuals, which may lead to isolation. In most cases, the age related hearing loss occur on both ears, and this arises from the changes that happen in the inner ear. The complex changes along the nerve pathway in the brain cells along with some medical conditions also culminated into a hearing loss in adults.
Keyword: Presbycusis, Adults, Hearing loss, Memory Loss
Hearing Loss in Older People
Introduction
One of the significant problems that affect people as they age is related to hearing loss. It is termed to be one of the most common challenges affecting the older people. The causes of the decline in the cognitive functioning and the hearing ability of the older adult people influence almost a third of the adults. The decline in the cognitive functioning results into memory and forgetting the loss. Rosenhall (2015) establishes that most people who are aged above 60 years have hearing problems. The problems of hearing make it hard for these people to understand instructions, hear a door bells and even respond to any warning. Causes of hearing loss include depression, stress, heart disease and having thyroid problems. Also, the lack of vitamin B12 failure to eat death diet and excessive alcohol intake results into hearing and memory challenges. The treatment of the memory loss problem is dependent on the causes of the memory loss. Drugs such as Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Galantamine, and Tacrine are used to treat the condition in reducing the severity (Rosenhall, 2015). In caregiving, focus on positive abilities and avoiding stress related factors to aid in addressing the problem. The prevalence of hearing the loss in the older people is a factor that requires attention.
Analysis of Hearing Problem in Older People
According to McCarthy (2014), about 20% of the hearing problem that the older people experience result from chronic diseases or injury. When an individual grows older, the cognitive level and the memory functioning slow down due to aging effect. McCarthy further notes that two-thirds of the people who are aged above 60 experience challenges in understanding capabilities and mental strength due to age (McCarthy, 2014). The memory loss is accompanied by low levels of concentration, weaker memory, unclear thought and reduced focus. There are certain changes that occur in the body as a person gets older including physical, chemical and biological changes that impact on the hearing loss. The human brain goes into structural changes through a process called “ventriculomegaly” and ends up influencing the hearing process (McCarthy, 2014). This process leads to the expansion of the cerebral ventricles making the connection between the neurons to be decreased. As a result, the process causes inefficiency in the neuron functioning. McCarthy (2014) reports that this process directly results in physical changes which have an impact on the psychological processes in the brain.
The hearing process has a significant impact on the cognitive functioning. In a study carried out by West et al. (2017), it is indicated that people with hearing problems have challenges in retaining information and thus become forgetful and memory loss. The problems of psychological and physical make an individual developed dependence on people in their daily lives and impacting on the ability of a person to engage in meaningful life activities.
Rosenhall posits that the problem of hearing can be classified into “Presbycusis, sensorineural and Tinnitus” (Rosenhall, 2015). Presbycusis is the older people who have challenges of hearing making it difficult for them to withstand loud sounds. Therefore, these people find it difficult to relate with the society around them and particularly the young people who are fond of listening to loud music. The sensorineural hearing loss results in the damage of the hearing tissue causing greater financial implications to the family due to the high treatment costs. Treating the damaged tissue is expensive, and this could be a major problem to the family. People suffering from tinnitus have problems in hearing various kinds of loud noises on the ears like roaring, ringing and even screaming. These are majorly caused by health problems like allergies in the heart and blood vessels.
Implication of the Problem
The problem of a hearing in older people has a significant impact on the family. These implication make it significantly to raise awareness that keeping a healthy lifestyle. The problems of aging have an influence on the ability of a person to engage and socialize with the community. The person has difficulties in hearing making it hard to comprehend issues and hence affecting social relations of the society and the family. The older individuals require support to manage the hearing loss. The implication of the gearing loss could result in anger and frustrations, communication difficulties low level of confidence particularly in the social settings along with social isolation. Some of the old people find it hard to deal with the problem especially when they think there is nothing they can do about the problem. West et al. (2017) also established a relationship between learning loss and loss of sight. People who have hearing problems are likely to have worsened sight. They thus also experience challenges in communicating effectively, reading and even in carrying out simple tasks that are around him. Thus the rate of social withdrawal and depression increases. There are many costs incurred in the process. In attempts to minimize the stress and depression that comes with the problem, the person could be forced to attend to therapies including “counseling, tinnitus retraining therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, clinical psychology and complementary therapies” (West et al., 2017. These results into increased costs. The cost related to addressing the hospice admissions could be expensive for the family to afford. The problem also increases social isolation and affects the quality of life. The problems in social relations due to hearing problems have made people be isolated. According to McCarthy (2014), the many societies discriminate the elder people and ill-treat that because of hearing problems.
Interventions to improve on the problem
There have been suggestions from various research that are directed at addressing the problem of memory loss and help in improving the memory functioning in older people. In order to improve on the problem, a person has to stay mentally active involve in regular involvement in social activates, be organized, and increase the physical exercise. Also in solving the problem, eating healthy coupled with a daily routine of exercising will help in the management of the chronic diseases which is one of the factors that contributes to the hearing and memory loss in aging. Exercising is termed to be one of the best ways that helps in keeping the brain cells active through increasing blood flow to the brain. Studies have noted that finding ways to keep our brains young so as to prevent it from aging and to delay the onset of the disease is likely to reduce the prevalence of hearing the loss in the older years. For example, Alzheimer a condition that culminates for the hearing problems could be avoided through keeping a balanced diet.
McCarthy (2014) asserts that older people have decreased brain activity which becomes evident when a person reaches the age of 60. Rosenhall aimed at establishing a relationship between memory loss and, lifestyle. He indicated that living a healthy and a positive lifestyle has a great impact on the hearing process. A healthy lifestyle has an influence on the neurons and nerve cells. Besides, he noted that the age related memory loss problem results from reduced blood flow to the brain cells which make people more likely to forget things.
Aerobic exercising increases the blood supply to the brain cells and supports in the development of neurons and nerve cells which are significant in improving the hearing process.
Treatment of the problem
There are hearing aids which are electronic instruments that a person wears behind the ear to aid in making the sounds louder. Cohlear implants are also a small electronic device that is surgically implanted in the inner ear to aid in providing a sense of sound to people with hearing challenges. Bone anchored hearing systems are designed to improve the natural ability of the body to advance the hearing process through enhancing sound and vibration. There are also assistive listening devices that also amplify sound.
Conclusion
The aging problem has changes on the cognitive process of a person making it difficult for one to remember things. Hearing loss has an impact on the quality of life that one lives. The person who has hearing problems is likely to stress and depresses and unable to respond to issues around him or her. This peel also depicts reduced morale due to people in the human brain. There are significant implications of receiving and understanding information due to the slow processing. The difficulties in talking may make the close people have problems with relating to the person. The deterioration in the hearing processes also has an implication on the entire body stayed. The cognitive process along with the impact on the brain cells could have a fatal impact on the person.
References
McCarthy, M. (2014). Problem drinking in middle age doubles risk of memory loss later in life, study finds. BMJ, 349(jul30 21), g4908-g4908. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g4908
Rosenhall, U. (2015). Epidemiology of age related hearing loss. Hearing, Balance And Communication, 13(2), 46-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/21695717.2015.1013775
West, J., Low, J., & Stankovic, K. (2017). Revealing Hearing Loss. Ear And Hearing, 37(2), 194-205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/aud.0000000000000238
