DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i10.002

Pages: 3821-3825

Presbyacusis (age-related hearing loss) is common in the elderly. It impairs communication and triggers several effects on functional abilities and health, damaging everyday activities and causing personal frustration, self-isolation, anxiety and other negative emotions, paranoia, relationship problems, stress, decreased quality of life and depression. It is widely acknowledged as a cause for depression in the elderly, although in practice, the relationship is often not recognized and interventions are not promptly made available to improve the quality of life of the elderly. This paper is a review of the epidemiology, theoretical and empirical basis of the relationship between presbyacusis and hearing loss, and evidence that prompt intervention with hearing aids improves the quality of life in elderly people with presbyacusis.