Presbycusis is age-related hearing loss affecting sound processing. Which type of hearing loss is it?

• A. Conductive hearing loss
• B. Sensorineural hearing loss
• C. Presbycusis
• D. Central hearing loss

Answer: (C)

Age-related changes in the inner ear cause sensorineural hearing loss. Presbycusis is the term for this aging-related sensorineural loss, resulting from degeneration of cochlear hair cells, neural pathways, or the stria vascularis. It affects sound processing, especially high-frequency sounds, and speech understanding in noisy environments. It is not a conductive issue (outer or middle ear problems) and not a central brain-processing problem, which is why the category describing this type is sensorineural. In practice, presbycusis is the specific age-related form of sensorineural hearing loss.