Ears

Most changes in hearing are probably due as much to noise exposure as to aging. Exposure to loud noise over time damages the ear's ability to hear. Nonetheless, some changes in hearing occur as people age, regardless of whether they have been exposed to loud noise.

As people age, they may hear less well, and balance may become slightly harder to maintain. These changes occur because some structures in the ear that help with hearing or balance deteriorate slightly. Also, earwax tends to accumulate more as people age. This accumulation can interfere with hearing.

As people age, they may notice that they cannot hear high-pitched sounds as well as they used to. For example, they may notice that violin or flute music has lost some of its brightness. Or they may have trouble understanding what women and children, but not men, say because most women and children have higher-pitched voices than men.

Perhaps more disturbing for older people is that other people seem to always be mumbling. Even when other people speak more loudly, the words are still hard to comprehend. This experience also results from difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds. Most consonants, such as c, k, p, s, and t, are closed, quick, high-pitched sounds. Vowels are open, longer, and lower-pitched sounds. So older people hear vowels much better than consonants. Consonants are the sounds that help people identify words. For example, when a person hears mainly vowels, "Tell me exactly what you want to keep" sounds like "Ell me exaly wha you wan oo ee." The sentence sounds as if the person speaking is not pronouncing the words clearly, and the meaning is lost. Speaking loudly does not help because it tends to accentuate the vowels, not the consonants.

Many older people have more trouble hearing in loud places or in groups because there is more background noise. Hearing aids can help people with hearing loss hear better.