Presbycusis: A Coordinated and Personalized Approach According to Different Frailty Phenotypes

Abstract

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is the most common sensory impairment. Older people with ARHL may vary in their profiles and usually manifest heterogeneous phenotypes, including in combination with presbyastasis, tinnitus, different frailty phenotypes, and multi-morbidity. Patients with these phenotypes generally have a decreased intrinsic capacity, high health burden, and poor prognosis, such as disability, fall, and other adverse events. However, the absence of an evidence-based guidance leads to a significant limitation of current approaches to ARHL care. Here, we present a framework for the rapid and in-depth geriatric assessment, and a recommendation for the coordinated and personalized management of older adults according to their etiology of hearing loss, imbalance, tinnitus, the status of frailty phenotype, and multi-morbidity. The main purpose is to recover functional health, reduce complications, and improve the quality of life for older people with ARHL and frailty phenotypes.