Hearing impairment in the elderly.

Hearing impairment is a common but not inevitable accompaniment of aging. It is partly due to the natural involution of irreplaceable neurones; environment also plays a large role. Although they may have difficulty in hearing all frequencies of sound, elderly people have particular difficulty with high-pitched sounds. They find it hard to focus on sounds, and serious social problems may arise as a result. Elderly people with hearing losses are particularly vulnerable to psychological sequelae, many of which are serious, but may also be correctable. Unfortunately, there is limited understanding of the causes of hearing handicaps, their prevalence, incidence and implications for the elderly, health professionals and the health care system.