A Retrospective Study on Audiological Profiling of Individual with Age Related Hearing Loss

Abstract

Age-related hearing loss, generally referred to as Presbycusis, is characterized by symmetrical deterioration of hearing abilities which are usually progressive in nature. This deterioration in hearing abilities is caused due to changes evident in the outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, and CANS. These changes can alter the results of various audiological tests. Therefore, the present study was taken up with an aim to profile the audiological tests in individuals older than 50 years of age with SNHL and mixed hearing loss who reported to AIISH between January 2019 and December 2020. The study was carried out in 288 ears (M: 176; F: 102), divided into SNHL and mixed hearing loss. These groups were further classified based on the audiogram configuration (sloping and flat) of hearing loss. SIS in quiet and tympanometric findings were also noted and assessed across age groups for all the types and configurations of hearing loss. The results suggest a gradually sloping configuration is most common among the SNHL group and a flat configuration for the mixed hearing loss group. SIS scores showed a decline with increase with age for all the types and configurations of hearing loss. There were changes in all tympanometric parameters with an increase in age, which was significant for mixed hearing loss groups. In contrast, the gender difference was not evident for any audiological tests assessed in the present study. Thus, the present study explains how the audiological test results vary with aging for SNHL and mixed hearing loss in older individuals.