HEARING LOSS IN ELDERLY

Introduction: To evaluate the audiological findings in Turkish elderly people. Materials and Method: The records of 238 elderly people aged 60 years or over (96 women and 142 men) who described tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss and 25 people with normal hearing were prospectively reviewed. All patients were examined by an otolaryngologist. Audiological evaluation included pure tone audiometry and speech discrimination scores. Pure tone thresholds and speech discrimination scores were compared by t test. Results: Average age was 69.0 +/- 6.2 years in elderly people and 32.8 +/- 6.2 years in the other group. The mean speech discrimination score was 77.0 +/- 17.3 in elderly patients and 96.4 +/- 3.1 in the other group. A descending type of audiogram curve was the main finding in elderly people. The main symptom of patients was tinnitus. A significant difference was observed between pure tone thresholds and speech discrimination scores of the groups. Conclusion: The most striking finding is the increased prevalence of hearing loss. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand age-related hearing loss. Management should be patient-specific and based on a careful analysis of the factors involved in each case.