Conductive hearing loss in the elderly.

With a steadily increasing proportion of the population in the geriatric age group, otolaryngologists are frequently confronted with conductive hearing losses in elderly patients. An evaluation of audiometric data from an out-patient audiology clinic over a six-month period revealed 13.4% of our geriatric patients presented with significant conductive components to their hearing loss. Advances in anesthetic management and medical therapy have broadened the indications for surgery in this age group. Recent evidence suggests that the results of surgery in the elderly patient are identical to those in younger age groups, and careful attention to associated medical problems can keep the complication rate at an acceptable minimum. In the appropriately selected elderly patient, surgical correction of a conductive hearing loss may well be the preferred option.