Dawaa Reference

chronic

Presbycusis (age-related hearing loss)

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class HD68 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Presbycusis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559220/

Verified against1 document
  • No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (3)

  • Family or friends often notice the hearing loss before the patient does [hearing loss]
  • Trouble following speech in a noisy room is a typical early complaint
  • Tinnitus is sometimes reported but is not specific to this condition [tinnitus]

Signs — what you find (4)

  • Age-related tympanic membrane opacification and cerumen buildup are common incidental findings
  • Sound carried by air outlasts sound carried by bone on Rinne testing in each ear, consistent with a sensorineural pattern
  • Weber testing lateralizes toward the better-hearing ear, reflecting a contralateral sensorineural loss
  • Symmetric hearing loss can make Weber testing falsely appear normal [hearing loss]

Tests (5)

  • Routine bedside exam maneuvers alone cannot establish the diagnosis; formal audiometry is required
  • An audiogram plots hearing threshold in decibels against frequency in hertz
  • Bilateral hearing loss above 2000 Hz on a down-sloping audiogram is characteristic
  • Imaging is reserved for cases where the presentation and audiometry disagree, or a neurologic finding is present
  • Labs for dyslipidemia, diabetes, and kidney dysfunction may be reasonable though not required to diagnose it

If not this — what else fits (4)

  • A diagnosis of exclusion: rule out noise damage, infections, Ménière disease, prior injury, autoimmune conditions, a perilymph leak, inherited loss, otosclerosis, a tumor, or ototoxic drugs first
  • If it's conductive rather than sensorineural, look instead for otosclerosis, a cholesteatoma, perforation, infection, a foreign body, tumor obstruction, or earwax impaction
  • Comorbid diabetes, hypertension, kidney impairment, and high lipids often travel with this diagnosis and merit evaluation
  • New mood or cognitive changes in an older adult may actually reflect unrecognized hearing impairment rather than a primary psychiatric or cognitive disorder

SourceStatPearls "Presbycusis" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

Age-related sensorineural hearing loss has no drug treatment; management is audiology referral for hearing-aid assessment and counselling on communication strategies. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

Adult-only condition - paediatric section not applicable

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

Age-related sensorineural hearing loss has no drug treatment; management is audiology referral for hearing-aid assessment and counselling on communication strategies.

Cautions
  • Asymmetric or rapidly progressive loss, or loss accompanied by ear pain or discharge, is not typical presbycusis and needs ENT referral to exclude another cause.
  • No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.