Age-related hearing loss, or presbycusis (prez-bee-QUE-sis), is a condition that involves a progressive loss of hearing, beginning with high-frequency sounds such as speech.

If you're hard of hearing, then background noise and reverberation (ree-ver-beh-RATE-shun) may prevent you from participating in what's going on in large assembly areas.

Hearing loss has several causes, including noise trauma, infections, heart conditions or stroke, head injuries, tumors, certain medicines, heredity, and aging.

The two most common hearing conditions associated with aging are presbycusis (prez-bee-QUE-sis) and tinnitus (ti-NYE-tis). Presbycusis causes you to have problems hearing high-frequency sounds such as speech, while tinnitis causes a ringing, buzzing, or hissing in your ear that may sound like running water or the inside of a seashell.

Research continues to find ways to restore hearing through different surgical procedures. One of the procedures that has been successful is a cochlear (Kaw-klee-er) implant.

Although there's no known cure for age-related hearing loss, advances in hearing-aid technology are proving to be greatly beneficial to a large number of patients.

If you're having trouble hearing, your doctor may recommend the use of a hearing aid. This is a small electronic device with a microphone that amplifies weak sounds through a tiny speaker worn in your ear.