ABSTRACT
The next 50 years will witness a significant increase in ageing in the European Union, the United States, and Japan, with the number of people aged 65 and above growing significantly. The most common sensory impairment among the elderly is agerelated hearing impairment (ARHI), also called presbyacusis. In its most typical presentation, ARHI is mid to late adult-onset, progressive, bilaterally symmetrical, sensorineural, and most pronounced in the high frequencies, leading to a moderately sloping pure tone audiogram. Thirty-seven percent of people aged between 61 and 70 have a significant hearing loss of at least 25 dB (1). This prevalence increases further at older ages. Sixty percent of 71-to 80-year-olds are affected by ARHI (1). Considering the ageing of the population in large parts of the Northern hemisphere, the number of people affected by ARHI will steadily increase in the future.
