Hearing problems as you age: Issues to know about, their causes, symptoms, treatment and preventive tips.

ENT experts reveal a list of hearing problems as you age, their causes, symptoms, treatment and preventive tips you should know about.Hearing problems can happen at any age but one common type is age-related hearing loss, which is mainly caused by the deterioration of the nerves that transmit sound signals to the brain. This can happen over time and there are two other types of hearing loss.In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Fidelis Grace Dass, ENT Consultant at SSM Hospital, shared, “One is called conductive hearing loss, where there’s a problem with the ear’s ability to conduct sound. (the process by which sound waves travel through the ear canal). This could be due to a hole or damage in the eardrum. The second type is mixed hearing loss, which involves a combination of both conductive and sensory-neural hearing loss. This means there could be problems with both the ear’s ability to conduct sound and the nerves transmitting it to the brain.”Dr Fidelis Grace Dass explained, “Sensory-neural hearing loss is seen in aged patients mainly due to the degeneration of the nerve/damage to the inner ear. This degeneration occurs in a retrograde fashion. The aged patient might come with a history of tinnitus, a ringing sensation in the ear( also known as cry of the dying nerves). The nerve loses its ability and starts emitting a ringing sound called tinnitus. This is a warning sign for getting required tests to be done. Age-related hearing loss is said to be progressive sense of neural hearing loss. It is progressive because it does not occur suddenly, in due course of time it slowly decreases without the patient’s knowledge. If the patient is less responsive to his peers, watches television with maximum volume, it should be addressed at first followed by audiological evaluation.”