Presbycusis - age-related hearing loss - is the number one communicative disorder and a significant chronic medical condition of the aged. Little is known about how type II diabetes, another prevalent age-related medical condition, and presbycusis interact. The present investigation aimed to comprehensively characterize the nature of hearing impairment in aged type II diabetics. Hearing tests m...

We performed brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) examinations in 100 patients older than 60 years and having type I diabetes mellitus and presbycusis. The aim of our investigation was to compare the BAEP results of this group with those of healthy controls with presbycusis and to look for possible correlations between alteration of the auditory brainstem function and the aging of elderly...

Background: In 2009, the Academy's Board of Directors authorized the creation of a Task 2 Force on Central Presbycusis. The task force's charge was to review the body of evidence 3 surrounding the existence of age-related declines in central-auditory processes and the 4 consequences of any such declines for everyday communication and function. If the evidence 5 warranted, the task force was als...

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) or presbycusis is a complex phenomenon consisting of elevation of the hearing levels as well as changes in the auditory processing. Although many adults retain good hearing as they age, hearing loss associated with ageing is common among elderly persons. There are a number of pathophysiological processes underlying age-related changes to functional components. Pr...

The majority of acquired hearing loss, including presbycusis, is caused by irreversible damage to the sensorineural tissues of the cochlea. This article reviews the intracellular mechanisms that contribute to sensorineural damage in the cochlea, as well as the survival signaling pathways that can provide endogenous protection and tissue rescue. These data have primarily been generated in hearin...

Listeners suffering from presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) often report difficulties when attempting to understand vocal announcements in public spaces. Current solutions that improve speech intelligibility for hearing-impaired subjects mainly consist of customized solutions, such as hearing aids. This study proposes a more generic strategy, which would enhance speech perception for both n...

OBJECTIVE To assess the contributions of diseases to disability burden among older persons in China. METHOD Based on the 2006 China Disability Survey (n = 354,859), we used the attribution method and Sullivan method to obtain disability prevalence and life expectancy with disability (LED) by disease, respectively. RESULTS At disease group level, ear, eye, circulatory and musculoskeletal dis...

The American Academy of Otolaryngology and American Council of Otolaryngology (AAOACO) define hearing handicap as a disability to understand sentences under everyday vocal and listening conditions, and describe procedures for its estimation from pure-tone threshold hearing levels . Research now reveals that the AAO-ACO procedures underestimate measured hearing handicap by the equivalent of aver...