But what is comfortable for people with hearing loss is very uncomfortable for others who have normal hearing. An auditory problem common to aging people is the inability to understand the message because of a high level of background noise. As age increases, less and less background noise is required for older people to experience this inability to hear. For example, for older people, television tends to interfere with hearing when they are trying to verbally communicate. The level at which auditory loss is handicapping to a person depends on many things.
Some people can interpret speech sounds through listening habits and lip reading.
All these changes can mean something psychologically to aging people. The most serious effect of hearing loss is withdrawal from others. For some reason, it seems eyeglasses are accepted much more readily than hearing aids. Taste and Smell. There is some loss of taste buds with aging, though not much until age 50 and not a very large change until after 70.