MED-EL recognizes International Day of Older Persons to raise awareness about age-related hearing loss

October 1, 2023 – (Innsbruck, Austria): Imagine living in a world where everything around you gradually falls into silence, making it difficult to distinguish familiar voices and everyday sounds. For millions of older adults, this is not just a hypothetical scenario – it is their daily reality, and this phenomenon is known as age-related hearing loss. The United Nations declared October 1 to be the International Day of Older Persons, and MED-EL, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, acknowledges that age-related hearing loss can affect people of every age, whether they themselves are afflicted, or care for a loved one who is. 

Age-related hearing loss is the gradual loss of hearing in both ears. It is one of the most common conditions accompanying aging, affecting about one in three people aged 65 to 74 and nearly half of those older than 75. Even if someone had good hearing early in their life, they might gradually lose it as they age.

How age-related hearing loss affects everyday life

Experiencing difficulty in hearing can have a significant impact on our daily interactions and various aspects of our lives. It begins with challenges in connecting with family and friends, enjoying entertainment, navigating shopping experiences, and fully engaging in educational pursuits. In addition, participation in volunteer or paid work, attending lectures, and religious services can become more challenging. Having trouble hearing can also make it hard to understand and follow a doctor's advice, respond to warnings, and hear phones, doorbells, and smoke alarms. Age-related hearing loss can make conversations with family and friends hard to follow, leading to feelings of frustration and isolation. 

Research has shown an association between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline, including an increased risk of developing conditions like forms of dementia: People with hearing loss are more likely to experience cognitive problems and a faster rate of decline in cognitive function compared to those without hearing loss. For instance, remembering a telephone number or a pin code you have just heard becomes more difficult. Recent publications have shown that treating hearing loss seems to have a positive impact on the development of dementia. 

How to recognize symptoms 

Aside from a general difficulty hearing, there are other possible symptoms that may appear:

• Difficulty making out higher pitches, such as children’s voices or some electronic sounds (like tones on a cell phone or in a car). 
• Reading lips when others speak to you. 
• Turning up the volume on TV, radio or phone to levels that others find uncomfortably loud.
• Trouble understanding conversations in noisy places, such as restaurants.
• Tinnitus, or the perception of ringing, buzzing, or hissing sounds in the ears, is common with age-related hearing loss. It can be a sign of underlying hearing loss.

How to help family members

Hearing loss symptoms may gradually emerge. To help those affected, start by acknowledging their condition and offering empathy and support. Effective communication includes speaking clearly, facing them, and avoiding noisy environments. Most importantly, encourage them to seek professional help quickly. Getting prompt medical guidance and intervention for hearing issues is key to get the improved treatment results, and regaining independence in daily activities thanks to understanding conversations better and engaging more fully in social interactions.

Colin, a UK MED-EL cochlear implant user who lives with progressive hearing loss, remembers how he first became aware of his worsening hearing. “I didn’t take much notice at first, thinking it was temporary and that all would be well in due course.” For people with hearing loss, the General Practitioner or primary care physician can play an instrumental role in early detection of hearing loss as well as referring the patient to an ear, nose, and throat specialist for further evaluation or to an audiologist or other hearing healthcare professional for a comprehensive hearing evaluation. Consulting with an audiologist revealed that a cochlear implant was a suitable option for Colin. “Since receiving my implant my confidence has increased and I can now use the telephone to talk to my family. The first conversation I had with my daughter was emotional, we had never been able to communicate like that before my implant.”

How hearing implants can be a solution 

Hearing implants can be an effective solution when traditional hearing aids do not provide sufficient benefit due to the type or severity of hearing loss. “Hearing is access to family, independence and entertainment – all things everyone should be able to have at any age”, says Jane Opie, Senior Research Audiologist at MED-EL. “At MED-EL, we work hard to remove hearing loss as a barrier for communication. Hearing implants can help maintain quality of life even with age-related hearing loss. It is crucial that we pay attention, not only to ourselves, but also to our loved ones and take the first symptoms seriously. And it is important to emphasize one thing: it is never too late for a hearing implant.”

Visit the MED-EL website and take a free online hearing test that can help identify a potential hearing loss. Find out more about Colin’s hearing journey. 

About MED-EL

MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 2,500 employees from around 80 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 140 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, auditory brainstem implants as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com

CEO

Doz. DI Dr DDr med. h.c. Ingeborg Hochmair

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