Hearing loss may be a safety hazard and cause elderly people to trip and fall. The risk of falling increases significantly with age. Until recently, doctors tended to consider vision, balance and medication as the possible cause. New research has now linked trips and falls with hearing loss.

Age-related hearing loss, also known as presbycusis is caused by changes to ear. This makes it harder to hear higher frequencies (for example, men’s voices are easier to understand than women’s voices) and speech sounds muffled. For most people it occurs in both ears and very gradually over time.

Certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, can make hearing loss worse. Medications like chemotherapy are toxic to the sensory cells in your ears and can contribute to hearing loss.

Noise related hearing loss is from past long-term exposure to noise like working with machinery, playing in an orchestra or mowing the lawn. This can damage the sensory hair cells in your ear. Once they are damaged, they do not grow back and your ability to hear is diminished.

Having trouble hearing can make it hard to understand what people are saying or prevent you hearing the phone, doorbell or alarms. But it can also impact on your mobility.

New research from John Hopkins University shows that having a hearing loss may be a safety hazard as it increases your risk of falling. Researchers found that people with mild hearing loss were nearly three times more likely to have a history of falling. It is possible that people who can’t hear well do not have good sensory awareness, increasing the potential to trip and fall.

Hear-Clear Australia recommends getting your hearing tested to find out if you are at risk and using hearing aids if they are prescribed may keep you safe.

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