PRESBYCUSIS

Course overview

PRESBYCUSIS REFERS TO BILATERAL AGE-RELATED HEARING LOSS. IN LITERAL TERMS, PRESBYCUSIS MEANS 'OLD HEARING' OR 'ELDER HEARING. IT IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF HEARING LOSS WORLDWIDE AND IS ESTIMATED TO AFFECT APPROXIMATELY TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICANS AGED 70 OR OLDER. THE HALLMARK OF PRESBYCUSIS IS THE IMPAIRED ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND HIGH-FREQUENCY COMPONENTS OF SPEECH (VOICELESS CONSONANTS, SUCH AS P, K, F, S, AND CH). THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PRESBYCUSIS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN IMPROVING CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.