Episode Details

Hearing loss in the elderly, Dr Yomi explained the fundamentals of hearing loss, we said good-bye to graduating residents and welcomed the class of 2024.

Introduction: New Academic Year
By Hector Arreaza, MD

Today is July 1, 2021.

It’s that time of the year again when we say good-bye to our dear graduating residents, and we welcome a new group of eager PGY1s. 

On June 27, 2021, we had a graduation ceremony filled with emotion, stories, yummy food, and lots of dancing. We gave a well-deserved tie-dye lab coat to Dr Stewart as a sign of our appreciation and love. We say congratulations to our graduates who received their diploma: Monica Kumar, Joseph Gomes, John Ihejirika, Fermin Garmendia, Roberto Velazquez, Terrance McGill, Yodaisy Rodriguez, and Claudia Carranza. They all participated in this podcast, even more than once. I want to especially thanks Claudia who brought so many good ideas and her enthusiasm to this podcast. She promised she will continue to participate in the near future. 

Lisa Manzanares and Amna Fareedy received their diplomas a few months ago, but they were also remembered during this ceremony. 

And now we welcome our new interns [Drum roll]: Cecilia Covenas, Su Hlaing, Amardeep Chetha, Licet Imbert, Timiiye Yomi, Funmilayo Idemudia, Na Sung, and Amelia Martinez. They are officially starting their residency this week as the Class of 2024. I hope you can enjoy your training with us. And these interns are starting on the right foot. You will hear Tiimy present our podcast discussion today.

This is Rio Bravo qWeek, your weekly dose of knowledge brought to you by the Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program from Bakersfield, California. Our program is affiliated with UCLA, and it’s sponsored by Clinica Sierra Vista, Let Us Be Your Healthcare Home.

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Hearing loss in the elderly. 
By Timiiye Dawn Yomi, MD, and Hector Arreaza, MD

INTRODUCTION:

Hearing loss is the third most common health condition after hypertension and arthritis to affect the elderly population. According to the World Health Organization, about 538 million people are affected by hearing loss worldwide with people between ages 61 to 70 years accounting for about third of this number. 

80% of those older than 85 years have experienced some form of hearing loss and men tend to experience greater hearing loss with earlier onset compared to women. 

Normal conversation uses frequencies of 500 to 3000 Hz at 45 to 60 dB. After age 60 there is a steady decline by one dB annually. Genetic component plays a role in age related hearing loss.

DEFINITION:

A person who is not able to hear at hearing thresholds of 20dB or better in both ears is said to have hearing loss. Hearing loss can be mild moderate or severe and it can be uni- or bilateral. 

Mild: On the average, persons with mild hearing loss hear the most-quiet sounds between hearing thresholds of 25-34dB with their better ear.

Moderate: The most-quiet sounds heard by these persons are between hearing thresholds of 34-49dB with their better ear.

Moderately severe:    These persons hear the most quiet sounds between hearing thresholds of 50-64dB with their better ear.

Severe: The most quiet sounds heard by these persons are between hearing thresholds of 65-79dB with their better ear.

Profound: Persons with profound hearing loss hear the most quiet sounds at thresholds of 80 dB or more.

Some terms we may want to address here are “Hard of hearing” and Deafness. 

A person is said to be hard of hearing when they have hearing loss ranging from mild to severe, but they usually can communicate through spoken language. 

Deaf people on the other hand have profound hearing loss and often communicate with sign language.

TYPES OF HEARING LOSS:

Hearing loss can be broadly divided into