To mark “Day of the Senses,” a series of events and activities will take place from October 1 through 8, 2022, to raise awareness of sensory disorders in older adults. ENT clinics, ENT practices, and hearing aid specialists will participate in the event.

The “Dayof theSenses” action week centers on the theme “Aging with All the Senses—How Can This Be Achieved?” Through events held throughout Germany, the German Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, together with the Working Group on Geriatric ENT Medicine and the German Professional Association of ENT Physicians, will raise awareness about the significance of sensory impairments in older adults through events taking place across Germany from October 1–8, 2022. At these events, interested individuals or those affected can speak directly with ENT physicians, who serve as expert points of contact for age-related conditions.

Many of our sensory systems decline as we age. Nevertheless, we need them to age well and safely. Early diagnosis and treatment can be helpful in this regard. In addition to impaired vision, reduced sense of smell and touch, as well as hearing loss, are among the typical signs of aging.

During the week of events surrounding the Day of the Senses, various activities will take place where interested participants can learn “New Things About Our Senses.” In addition, there will be opportunities to have your vision, sense of smell, and sense of touch checked, or to take a hearing test to assess your hearing.

Good hearing is of paramount importance to quality of life. After all, only those who can hear well can follow conversations, engage actively in them, and thus participate fully in public life. Even though this ability declines with age, there are many ways to re-stimulate the ears and improve hearing.

Hearing loss usually begins gradually, and this is also true of age-related hearing loss. At first, those affected have more difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds—especially when the environment is noisy. Because these sounds simply fade away, those affected may not even notice that something is missing. This is quite different from vision problems, where we usually recognize on our own when we can no longer see something clearly—for example, because we squint or, when reading the newspaper, eventually find that our arms aren’t long enough to compensate for our progressive farsightedness.

Hearing loss usually begins gradually. The earlier hearing loss is detected, the more effectively it can be treated with hearing aids and the better the consequences of hearing loss can be prevented. That is why it is all the more important to take a hearing test regularly and have your hearing checked. Experts recommend having annual hearing tests starting no later than age 50. This is because hearing begins to decline gradually at this age. The Federal Association of the Hearing Aid Industry, together with its partners in the Hearing Health Initiative (www.initiative-hörgesundheit.de), that regular hearing screenings by an ENT specialist starting at age 50 be included in the list of covered services provided by statutory health insurance plans as a routine preventive examination.

The earlier hearing loss is detected, the more effectively it can be treated with hearing aids, and the better we can prevent the consequences of hearing loss—such as fatigue, exhaustion, headaches, and stress—as well as its psychosocial effects. According to recent studies, untreated hearing loss in middle age is by far the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia; source: Hélène Amieva et al. (2018): Death, Depression, Disability, and Dementia Associated with Self-Reported Hearing Problems: A 25-Year Study; in: The Journals of Gerontology, Series A, January 2018 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29304204).

Those who wait too long and do not seek treatment may find that their brain has already partially adapted to the loss of hearing, and they must essentially relearn how to hear. In such cases, getting used to hearing aids often takes significantly longer and requires more effort than for patients who start using a hearing aid early on. Hearing training and daily practice also help these individuals with hearing loss—thanks to hearing aids—to hear well again.

With our online hearing test, you can check your hearing yourself—in just three minutes. Of course, this hearing test is only a preliminary assessment and is no substitute for a professional hearing test conducted by an audiologist or an ENT specialist. If the results indicate that your hearing could be improved, you should visit an ENT specialist or hearing care professional near you and have a professional hearing test done.

A 90-year-old hears differently than a 40-year-old—but exactly how does our hearing change as we age? You can find out for yourself how the ear hears as we get older by listening to our audio samples.