The prevalence of hearing impairment increases after age 50. Research indicates that older patients judge their hearing impairments to be less severe than their spouses judge it to be. The tine between onset of hearing loss and treatment in these patients is ten years, on average. In fact, only a fraction of adult patients with serious hearing impairments receive treatment, although advances in hearing aid technology mean that many could be helped before further physical or psychological deterioration occurs. Recommended screening methods include written clinical history-taking and physical examination, clinical techniques, and patient questionnaires.
Early intervention is indicated in all instances of hearing impairment in children and adults.
With the latest technologies, sensorineural and conductive loss are often treatable. Hearing aids are now of therapeutic value in cases of auditory nerve damage. The Annals of Internal Medicine noted a measured improvement in social, cognitive, emotional, and communication function from hearing aid use in a group of elderly veterans with previously documented hearing loss. Infants whose loss was detected and managed before their first birthdays exhibited better communication skills than their counterparts who had not received early treatment. Research on neural plasticity found that the organization of the central auditory system may change between the onset of impairment and the time a hearing aid is fitted.