Abstract
Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), also referred to as presbycusis, is the most common sensory impairment seen in the elderly. As our cochlea, the peripheral organ of hearing, ages, we tend to experience a decline in hearing and are at greater risk of cochlear sensory-neural cell degeneration and exacerbated age-related hearing impairments, e.g., gradual hearing loss, deterioration in speech comprehension (especially in noisy environments), difficulty in the localization sound sources, and ringing sensations in the ears. However, the aging process does not affect people uniformly; nor, in fact, does the aging process appear to be uniform even within an individual. Here, we outline recent research into chronological cochlear age in healthy people, and exacerbated hearing impairments during aging due to both extrinsic factors including noise and ototoxic medication, and intrinsic factors such as genetic predisposition, epigenetic factors, and aging. We review our current understanding of molecular pathways mediating ARHL and discuss recent discoveries in experimental hearing restoration and future prospects.
Highlights
Aging is a progressive decline or loss of tissue and organ function over time due to the gradual accumulation of deleterious biological changes
The peripheral organ of hearing, ages, we tend to experience a decline in hearing and are at greater risk of cochlear sensory-neural cell degeneration and exacerbated age-related hearing impairments, e.g., gradual hearing loss, deterioration in speech comprehension, difficulty in the localization sound sources, and ringing sensations in the ears
age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a progressive, irreversible, and symmetrical bilateral neuro-sensory hearing loss resulting either from degeneration of the cochlea, where sound-induced vibrations are encoded by sensory hair cells into electrical signals in cochlear neurons that relay the information to the brain (Figure 1), or loss of auditory nerve fibers during cochlear aging
Summary
Aging is a progressive decline or loss of tissue and organ function over time due to the gradual accumulation of deleterious biological changes. The aging process has three distinct components: biological degeneration, extrinsic damage, and intrinsic damage These factors are superimposed on a genetic substrate and can be overshadowed by the general age-related susceptibility to diseases. ARHL is a progressive, irreversible, and symmetrical bilateral neuro-sensory hearing loss resulting either from degeneration of the cochlea, where sound-induced vibrations are encoded by sensory hair cells into electrical signals in cochlear neurons that relay the information to the brain (Figure 1), or loss of auditory nerve fibers during cochlear aging. TTehteorceofodrien,gtoonfetriannnsioeinset sdteimteuctlioin tmheayprbeeseanuceseoffuclomnteiansuuoruesibnadcketgercotuinngdangoei-sree[l1a1te],dlehaedairninggtodtehfiecniteswfocronthcoespet cpaaltlieednhtsidwdheon hexeparriensgs ldoisffis.cuTlhtye,rebfuotreh,avtoenreeliantivneoliysenodremteacltitohnremshaoyldbseina quusieeftu[l1m2].easure in detecting age-related hearing deficTiths ifsoretvhioeswe praetciaepnittsuwlahteoseoxuprrecsusrdreifnfticunltdye, rbsutat nhdavinegreolfatbivioelloygnicoarlmcaolcthhlreeasrhaogldinsginoqnuhieta[r1in2g]., extrinTshicisanredviinetwrinrseiccarpisitkuflactetosrsouthractuerxraecnetrbuantedaegrset-arneldaitnegd hoefabrinolgofguincaclticooncdhelecalirneagininagniomnalhmeaordinegls, eaxntdriinnsihcuamndanisn,ttrhinesmicorliesckulfaarctpoartshtwhatysexmaecderibataitnegacgoec-hrelelaatredcelhlesaerninesgcefunncectaionnd decgleineriantioaniamsaal models and in humans, the molecular pathways mediating cochlear cell senescence and degeneration as a consequence of aging, injury (noise, ototoxic drugs), and genetic predisposition. We discuss the recent discoveries in experimental hearing restoration
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