Diagnosis and management of hearing loss in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in elderly patients, and is often under-recognised and poorly managed. It is essential for all clinicians to have awareness and knowledge in this field to enable the institution of early and appropriate care.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this article is to review the causes, diagnosis and management of hearing loss as it applies to elderly patients. The review describes a useful approach that clinicians can apply to daily practice.

DISCUSSION: For elderly patients presenting with hearing loss, the basic assessment should include history, physical examination and pure tone audiometry. Management depends on the cause and type of hearing loss, and options include medical therapy, surgery and amplification. In the absence of a simple and correctable cause, consider referring patients to an otolaryngologist for further assessment.