Presbycusis
Presbycusis, also known as hearing loss due to age, is the effect of hearing, which accumulates while aging. This condition is progressive and irreversible hearing loss that is sensorineural, and it is a result of degeneration of the cochlea or complications with the inner ear structures or the auditory nerves. Presbycusis can be determined by some symptoms which occur in two levels; primary symptoms and secondary symptoms. Primary symptoms may include dull or attenuated speech, loss of directory of sound, and difficulty in discriminating speech against the noise from the background. Secondary symptoms are hyperacusis and tinnitus. Hyperacusis is the heightened sensitivity to some frequencies and volumes which come from recruitment. Tinnitus is where the patient hers buzzing, ringing, or hissing sounds when there are no external sounds made.
Presbycusis can occur along the nerve pathways to the brain, within the middle or the inner ear. There are various causes of Presbycusis. One of the causes is linked with the environment, which includes exposure to noise or loud music from the surrounding, leading to damage to the ears. Genetic factors also contribute to Presbycusis’s occurrence as some individuals can develop this type of ear damage and experience hearing problems as they age due to genetic factors. Other causes include side effects from certain medications and loss of hair cells, which act as sensory receptors in the inner ear.
Presbycusis remains a problem, especially as people get older. However, there are some interventions-education measures that can help in handling this condition. Ear protection Education programs in workplaces should be established educating workers on how to avoid exposing their ears to noise and warning them about the dangers involving prolonged exposure to loud noise. Clearly, people should be encouraged to wear protective gadgets on their ears, especially those working in noisy places, to avoid ear damage and be safe from hearing loss. Moreover, Employers should be informed about designing the workplaces in a manner that noise will be minimized, which includes designing walls with sound absorbers. Additionally, people should inform about the types of earphones or headphones they used and which maximum volume is good for their ears because some people play loud music using ear gadgets whose quality might damage their ears. It is important for these interventions to be applied even when people are young to avoid earlier damage of the ears at their young ages, which might accelerate their hearing loss when they are aging.
Different ages come with different retinal and macular diseases. Age-related Macular Degeneration is one of the eye disorders that affect aging individuals. This disorder affects the central part of the retina, which in turn affects the central field of vision. The disease tends to affect people who are over 65 years; furthermore, the disease is regarded to be the major single factor behind legal blindness in developed countries. Diabetic Retinopathy is another age-related disease that mostly affects people aged 40 and above, and it usually occurs in individuals who are suffering from diabetes. The disease affects the eye by gradually damaging the blood vessels within the retina, causing them to leak blood and other body fluids. As a result, the retinal tissue swells, thus damaging the eyes and other body parts. Another disorder that affects the eyes is glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve by causing abnormal pressure inside the eye hence affecting the vision of an individual. The disease among the leading causes of blindness for individuals over the age of 60. It normally remains symptomless to the most part until it already too late.