Age-related hearing loss
Age is the biggest single cause of hearing loss. As most of us grow older, the daily wear and tear on our hearing systems gradually reduces their effectiveness. When your hearing starts to weaken, it becomes more difficult to hear soft voices and high-frequency sounds, such as the voices of children and women. Sufferers of age-related hearing loss can also find it very hard to follow conversations in the presence of background noise.
Because the loss is gradual, you may not realize that you’ve lost some of your ability to hear. Often, family members notice age-related hearing loss before the sufferer becomes aware of it.