Hearing Loss in the Elderly

This volume studies the cause of hearing loss which affects almost everyone over the age of 70. The study challenges current diffuse ideas by showing that deafness in old age is a specific condition caused by an innate degenerative change.

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Virtually everyone over the age of 70 suffers from a hearing loss. This is the conclusion reached in the study published here by two experts in audiology and ENT pathology. Deafness in old age is shown to be a specific condition caused by an innate degenerative change; specifically the loss of outer hair cells of the cochlea. Three lines of research are followed. The epidemiological line ties into audiometry for case detection. The electrophysiological line includes non-invasive techniques for detecting electrical responses from the cochlea. The histopathological line shows how special post mortem perfusion and slicing techniques are used to obtain satisfactory preparations. Most of the study is new and the results challenge current diffuse ideas and point to more rewarding areas of research.