Dullness of hearing, which is a characteristic of old age, including the loss of the ability to perceive or to discriminate sounds: Mr. Smart's presbycusis occurred progressively as he got older.

Symptoms of presbycusis are gradual hearing loss and tinnitus.

The normal process of growing older produces changes in the cochlea and the cochlear nerves and, in other words, damage in the inner ear, and results in permanent sensorineural hearing loss.

Presbycusis most often occurs in both ears and, because the loss of hearing is so gradual, people with presbycusis may not realize that their hearing is diminishing.

Presbycusis is common, affecting a third of the people between 65 and 75 years and up to a half of the people 75 and over.

The only treatment for presbycusis is the wearing of hearing aids which can be worn in the ears or behind the ears.

Other visual communicative techniques, such as lipreading or watching facial expressions, are also helpful in coping with hearing loss.