Which statement best describes the relationship between aging and hair cell deterioration?

Which statement best describes the relationship between aging and hair cell deterioration?

• A. It reduces hearing loss in elderly
• B. It contributes to hearing loss
• C. It has no effect on hearing
• D. It cures hearing loss with age

Answer: (B)

Aging affects the delicate hair cells in the cochlea, which are responsible for turning sound vibrations into neural signals. Over time these cells can deteriorate due to cumulative wear, metabolic stress, and lifetime noise exposure. When hair cells—especially outer hair cells that amplify sound and inner hair cells that transduce it—are damaged, hearing sensitivity drops, particularly for high-frequency sounds, leading to the common age-related sensorineural hearing loss known as presbycusis. Because hair cell loss in humans is largely irreversible, aging tends to contribute to hearing loss rather than preventing it, having no effect, or curing it.

Aging affects the delicate hair cells in the cochlea, which are responsible for turning sound vibrations into neural signals. Over time these cells can deteriorate due to cumulative wear, metabolic stress, and lifetime noise exposure. When hair cells—especially outer hair cells that amplify sound and inner hair cells that transduce it—are damaged, hearing sensitivity drops, particularly for high-frequency sounds, leading to the common age-related sensorineural hearing loss known as presbycusis. Because hair cell loss in humans is largely irreversible, aging tends to contribute to hearing loss rather than preventing it, having no effect, or curing it.