Pathogenesis and treatment of presbyacusis

Abstract

Factors responsible for presbyacusis include physiological ageing processes as well as endogenous or exogenous causes. In the industrial countries, two main exogenous causes are exposure to loud noise and obesity. Pathomechanisms contributing to presbyacusis are hypoxia/ischemia, reactive species formation and oxidative stress, apoptotic and necrotic death of hair cells and spiral ganglion cells as well as inherited and acquired mutations in the mitochondrial DNA. Important for the successful treatment of presbyacusis is a timely fitting of hearing aids on both ears to improve communication and provide the auditory system with acoustic information. Using the hearing aids will also elevate the detection threshold of an existing tinnitus signal. At present, several therapeutic strategies based on pharmacological intervention are under discussion. The application of antioxidants or caloric restriction are considered to prevent or reduce oxidative stress-induced damage. Animal experiments evidenced that superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) strongly decreases in age; thus, a further approach may be the overexpression or modulation of the SOD2 within the cochlea. Adenoviral-mediated gene transfer technology would be a tempting approach to address this type of therapy. Finally, hair cell regeneration could be a possible treatment of presbyacusis in the future.

Möglichkeiten der Vorhersage des Erfolgs einer Hörgeräteversorgung mittels des APHAB-Fragebogens

“…Ursachen dafür können einerseits exogene Einflüsse sein, wobei in industriellen Ländern Lärm und Übergewicht die wichtigsten sind, hinzu kommen weitere Faktoren, wie z. B. Ischämie, Hypoxie, oxidativer Stress und Degeneration von Haar-und Ganglienzellen [6]. Die mit einer Schwerhörigkeit im höheren Alter verbundenen Erkrankungen sind vielfältig.…”

Verfahren zur Ermittlung der Hörverbesserung mittels des APHAB bei einer Hörgeräteversorgung

“…Neben natürlichen Alterungsprozessen durch endogene Einflüsse (z. B. Ischämie, Hypoxie, oxidativer Stress, Degeneration von Haar-und Ganglienzellen) werden auch exogene Faktoren diskutiert, wobei in industriellen Ländern Lärm und Übergewicht die wichtigsten sind [6]. Die Folgen einer unbehandelten Schwerhörigkeit im höheren Alter sind vielseitig.…”

Speech perception performance of Telugu speaking elderly population and number of compression channels in digital hearing aid technology

“…Hearing loss in the elderly population is usually symmetrical high frequency sloping SNHL loss which gradually increases with age (11) . A timely fitting of HAs on both ears to provide the auditory system with appropriate acoustic information to improve communication is a central aspect in the rehabilitation of the elderly population with hearing impairment (12) . Hence, due to variations in the degree of hearing loss at different frequencies, the electroacoustic characteristics programmed into the HA should differ for different frequencies and match the residual auditory area so that as much of the speech signal is made audible to the listener.…”