What Does Research Show About Hearing Loss in Older Adults?
Key Takeaways
- Hearing loss is a common problem for older adults.
- Along with aging, factors like exposure to loud noises, a head injury, or genetics may affect how your ears function.
- While the causes of hearing problems can sometimes be treated, many people benefit from using hearing aids.
- Original Medicare doesn’t cover routine hearing exams or hearing aids.
About 15% of U.S adults have some difficulty hearing, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the risk increases greatly as we age. A 2023 study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University estimated that more than 65% of people on Medicare over the age of 71 had some degree of impaired hearing.
That kind of medical research helps us understand how our ears lose function over a lifespan and what we can do to protect them. Studies show that you can make a difference in both your mental and physical health by taking preventive steps and seeking treatment for hearing loss.
Types of Hearing Loss
There are three basic types of hearing loss, which require different approaches to care:
- Sensorineural hearing loss occurs because of damage to your inner ear or hearing nerve.
- Conductive hearing loss happens in the middle or outer ear, interfering with the path of soundwaves to the inner ear.
- Mixed hearing loss involves problems in both your inner ear and your outer or middle ear.
Older adults also commonly experience tinnitus, a ringing or another persistent noise in the ears that’s often associated with hearing loss or an ear injury. A 2024 review of data from the National Health Interview Survey found that more than 11% of U.S. adults have tinnitus, although it’s usually not severe enough to interfere with everyday life.
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What Causes Hearing Loss in Older Adults?
Over the course of your lifetime, the inner ear can lose function as it’s exposed to stress. Damage often affects the hair cells of the cochlea, a fluid-filled organ in your inner ear that processes sounds into signals your brain can receive.
Other common causes of hearing loss for older adults include:
- Excessive noise: Loud sounds (about 85 decibels and higher) can harm the hair cells in your inner ear and do permanent damage.
- Infections: Ear infections, as well as other viral or bacterial infections, can affect your hearing.
- Trauma: A head injury could damage your hearing.
- Medication: Certain drugs have a possible side effect called ototoxicity, in which your inner ear is damaged, potentially resulting in symptoms like hearing loss, tinnitus, and loss of balance.
- Genetics: If your family has a history of hearing loss, you’re at greater risk.
While we can’t prevent deterioration in our ears due to aging, you may lower your risk by avoiding noisy environments and using hearing protection like earplugs or earmuffs.
Treating Hearing Loss
If you have trouble communicating with friends and family, making out dialogue on the TV, or talking on the phone, you should get your hearing tested. Usually these symptoms emerge and worsen over time.
When your ears lose function quickly, it’s a condition called sudden sensorineural hearing loss and could be a sign of an underlying disorder. If you wake up with significantly worse hearing or it diminishes noticeably over just a few days, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.
Talk with your primary care physician about the difficulties you’re experiencing. They may refer you to:
- An ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, also called an otolaryngologist, who can assess the likely cause of your hearing problems and may provide treatments.
- An audiologist, who is licensed to test your hearing and fit you for hearing aids.
Can Hearing Loss Be Reversed?
In some cases, treatment may address the underlying issues affecting your hearing. For example, your doctor might remove a buildup of earwax that’s blocking the ear canal.
Other hearing problems can be corrected with surgery. If there’s an injury to your eardrum, the membrane between your outer and middle ear, a doctor may recommend a procedure called a tympanoplasty to repair the damage.
However, hearing loss due to aging cannot be reversed and should be managed with assistive technology.
Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants
When there’s damage to your inner ear, you will likely need hearing aids, which use small microphones to amplify sounds. For mild-to-moderate hearing loss, you may be able to purchase a pair over the counter without a prescription.
Depending on your needs, an audiologist may recommend one of several styles:
- Behind the ear
- In the ear
- In the canal
- Completely in the canal
If your hearing loss is too severe for regular hearing aids, you may have the option of cochlear implants. These devices are surgically implanted and work by sending signals around the cochlea’s damaged hair cells and directly into the cochlear nerve. It can take a few months for your brain to adjust to hearing this way.
Untreated Hearing Loss
Many people delay getting help with their hearing loss because they don’t realize it’s a problem at first or feel embarrassed. If you don’t seek out treatment, you could face serious consequences for your cognitive health. Studies suggest that people with hearing loss are more likely to feel isolated from others and to experience cognitive decline and dementia.
Hearing aids or cochlear implants can make a significant difference in these health outcomes and even help you live longer. Research conducted at the University of Southern California found a 24% higher risk of death among adults with hearing loss who didn’t use hearing aids. Still, less than 30% of U.S. adults who are over 71 and have hearing loss use them.
Medicare and Hearing Loss
Original Medicare, the public health insurance program for U.S. adults who are 65 and older or have certain disabilities, does not cover routine hearing tests or hearing aids.
However, Medicare Part B, the part of Original Medicare that provides medical insurance for outpatient care, does cover hearing and balance exams when your doctor orders them to find out whether you need medical treatment. Medicare will also cover a visit to an audiologist every 12 months if you have a long-term hearing condition.
Medicare Advantage plans, which are offered by private insurance carriers to substitute for Original Medicare, may provide additional benefits. You will likely need to see healthcare providers who are in your plan’s network to make the fullest use of your coverage.
Research shows that hearing loss is a widespread problem for older adults and that trying to ignore it could lead to much worse outcomes. Talk to your doctor about how to care for your ears so you can communicate as clearly as possible and stay connected with others.