Hearing & Eye Age-Related Diseases

Presbycusis symptoms and differential diagnosis

Presbycusis is an age-related hearing condition that is progressive and, in most times, an irreversible sensorineural loss of hearing that results from the degeneration of the cochlea and other structures of the inner ear and the auditory nerves. The loss of hearing usually occurs at high frequencies and accumulates with age and is caused by other factors in addition to normal aging. The main causes of Presbycusis include exposure to environmental causes such as high-pitch noise, genetics, and changes in pathophysiology in relation to aging (Harris & Ehrlich, 2016). The main sign and symptoms include a gradual loss of hearing as people age and the loss of the cochlear sensory nerves. The individual with Presbycusis may also experience some of the following symptoms; first, they may hear speeches from other people as being mumbled with difficulty in hearing high-pitched sounds. Secondly, some conversations are difficult to understand to the patient, especially if it has background noise. Thirdly, the individual with Presbycusis may find it more difficult to hear women’s voices than male voices due to differences in pitches, with certain sounds seeming to be annoying. The differential diagnosis for Presbycusis includes glomus tympanicum tumors which are common in the middle ear.

Interventions-education measures with a patient with Presbycusis

Presbycusis has no single intervention, and good treatment plans include close monitoring as well as follow-ups and other changes that are needed. In this regard, there are various options for treating or intervening for people with hearing loss and their families; some of the interventions include working with professional teams who help the family learn how to communicate well, getting hearing devices like hearing aids, taking advantage of the available resources to the people with hearing loss as well as the families and joining of support groups. According to Miller and Andreoli (2013), the early intervention and education in children with hearing loss is to develop language, speech, and social skills since the earlier a person gets services, the more likely the child will develop their speech and social skills. Also, special education is essential to people with Presbycusis as the instructions are designed to address their educational needs. Such educational measures are provided through in public school system and individuals with disabilities educational centers. Thirdly, early hearing detection and intervention is essential as it works to identify children with hearing loss and promote timely testing and follow-up services to the affected person and the family.

Retinal and macular diseases age-related

As people age, the inside of the eyes and their retinas, as well as the cells at the back of the eyeballs, get affected too. For instance, younger people tend to have shiny and smooth retinas, while the elderly have wrinkled and dark eyes. In this regard, the three common retinal and macula age-related diseases include, first, Macular degeneration related to age, which damages the macula, which is a section of the retina. Such patients cannot see well, especially in presuming tasks such as reading, driving, and household activities. Some of the symptoms of the condition include blurry view and distorted vision, such as seeing wavy lines. The second disease is Diabetic retinopathy which is a compilation of type 1 and 2 diabetes that largely damages the retina’s blood vessels which are enhanced by chronic high blood levels of sugar, which cause the blood vessels to leak or grow abnormally. The third disease is corneal opacities which is an impairment that comprises a variety of infections that cause inflammation of the eyes through infection of the cornea and eye membranes and eventually leads to loss of functional vision.

References

Harris, A., & Ehrlich, R. (2016). Age-related macular degeneration and the aging eye. Clin Interv Aging, 3(3), 473–482.

Miller , J. W., & Andreoli , C. M. (2013). Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for ocular neovascular disease. Curr Opin Ophthalmol, 34(2), 502–508.

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