Presbyacusis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Gradual loss of the ability to hear high-pitched sounds that comes with advancing age and is often present in older adults
2. The progressive decline in hearing sensitivity that normally develops as a person grows older, usually affecting both ears
3. A common form of sensorineural deafness caused by the natural aging of the inner ear and auditory nerve over the years

Etymology: Hearing loss that comes with age has a name built from two Ancient Greek words: "présbus," meaning "old," and "ákousis," meaning "hearing." The second element also gives English words such as "acoustic," which is the same Greek root behind hearing in general, while "presby-" is the combining form that appears in other medical terms for age-related decline, such as "presbyopia," the loss of close-focus vision with age. The word was assembled in the modern era from these classical pieces, not used by the Greeks themselves. Its ancient building blocks were ordinary words for an old person and for the act of hearing, and the medical coinage simply joined them to name a condition that physicians wanted to describe precisely.

Synonyms: presbycusis