It’s very common for people to experience hearing loss as they get older. Age-related hearing loss is called presbycusis, pronounced pres-buh-CUE-sis.
This page explains more about the condition that affects around 50% of US adults aged 75 and older.
Presbycusis is often a natural part of the ageing process, but other factors can contribute to hearing loss in older people, like exposure to loud noise over a prolonged period of time or underlying health conditions.
Presbycusis symptoms include difficulty keeping up with conversations, finding it hard to hear people on the phone, and needing to turn up the volume on the television, for example.
Age-related hearing loss is permanent and is likely to worsen with time. There is no cure, but there are ways to manage it.
The usual treatment for presbycusis is to wear hearing aids.
