Diagnosis of Presbycusis
How do you diagnose a presbycusis?
The doctor should suspect that this is a person with presbycusis when we meet a person close to retirement with hearing problems, which also has the risk factors mentioned above. In these people we do basically three scans
- Otoscopy: otoscopy is the visual examination of the ear. In these people the otoscopy is normal in most cases.
- Tone threshold audiometry: is a simple test that establishes the intensity at which the patient begins to hear the tones that will broadcast the browser. It is done with headphones provided by different shades: from 125 to 8,000 Hz (hertz, or cycles per second). People with presbycusis typically have hearing loss at 2,000 Hz
- Verbal audiometry: a test similar to the above, but using words of two syllables that the patient should repeat exactly. This assesses the degree of intelligibility that preserves the patient.
The two tests that gauge the hearing served as a doctor to diagnose the situation of the person, as to indicate the treatment.