Unit 8: Ear Disorders & Aging

Presbycusis

Age-related loss of hearing

3rd

Presbycusis is the ______ most common chronic ailment in the elderly

False; more common in men bc of greater chance of occupational exposure to loud, damaging sounds

T/F: presbycusis is more common in women than men

Conduction deafness

Problems conducting the sound wave to the inner ear for signal transduction. Reasons for this can include accumulation of ear wax, ruptured ear drums, or fused, arthritic ear ossicles.

False; treated with hearing aids or surgery

Most forms of conduction deafness can only be treated with surgery

Nerve deafness

More serious form of deafness. Caused by damage to the inner ear and may involve the actual hair cells or cochlear nerve.

Cochlear implants

New electrical devices that can help address nerve deafness. Involves implanting tiny electrodes in the cochlea

Includes an external microphone & battery, w/ a surgically implanted signal processor (under the skull), & an electrode wire that is snaked into the Cochlea

Describe cochlear implants

Auditory

The cochlea electrode directly stimulates ______ nerve, approximating the tonal qualities of the sound received by the external microphone.

Tinnitus

Ringing in the ears

Infection, high blood pressure, diabetes, medication or occupational damage from exposure to loud sounds

Causes of tinnitus

False; tx may be possible, most ppl ignore the ringing

T/F: there is no possible treatment for tinnitus

Dizziness or vertigo

Common ailment in the elderly and implies a problem with the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear, or signal processing difficulty from related areas, such as muscle joints and tendons, also involved in proprioception.

• Reduced muscle strength

• Slower proprioceptive signals

• Blood flow interruptions to brain

• Loss of ear proprioceptive input to cerebellum

• Loss of cerebellar neurons that process sensory/motor impulses

The slow shuffling gait of old individuals, their potential to lose balance, and fall, is due to a combination of circumstances including…