Someone coming into our clinic for a hearing check-up will often say, “I think my hearing has gotten worse”. Our examination may find little or no change in hearing sensitivity or understanding words in quiet. Can your hearing change even when your hearing test results look the same?
Hearing in older adults
Our auditory system changes in other ways as we get older. These changes are separate from any loss of hearing sensitivity. One change is the slowing of the speed our nerves send signals to the brain. Another change is how our brain processes those nerve signals. In other words, it’s not just our ears, it’s also our brain.
“Can hearing change even if my test results are the same?”
As a result, adults over the age of 50 years of age don’t understand speech as easily in difficult listening situations when compared to younger adults. That’s why older adults with normal hearing often complain of having difficulty if people talk fast, in noisy conditions or in groups of people. This phenomenon called “hidden hearing loss” and difficult to diagnose with a conventional hearing exam without doing deep neural testing.
“Can Hearings aids help?”
Aging can affect our hearing in ways other than a change in hearing sensitivity. Our brains capacity to process speech in complex situations will slow. Hearing aids may reduce or minimize these effects by stimulating the auditory system and keeping our brains actively involved in hearing. It has been proven to slow the progression of dementia, anxiety and social withdrawal. For those without a loss of hearing sensitivity, communication strategies such as lip reading, reducing background noise and avoiding noisy situations. Communication is also a two-way street. Speakers need to get the listeners attention, avoid speaking from a distance or other rooms or starting a conversation and then turn away from the listener.
For a person with a hearing impairment, listening is hard. Don’t make more difficult for them.