Hearing Health

In this series

Hearing Health Care for Adults: Diseases, Treatments and Prevention

All about the hearing issues that affect you as you age, from earwax to ear infections

Sarah Gleim and Kim Hayes,

Updated September 18, 2025

AARP

Published October 27, 2017

/ Updated September 18, 2025

AARP (Getty Images)

Key takeaways:

Hearing loss affects two-thirds of adults age 70 and older.
Researchers don’t know what causes ringing in the ear, known as tinnitus, but treatments are improving.
Impacted earwax, which almost 60 percent of nursing home residents deal with, can cause a host of hearing health problems.
Itchy ear might not seem serious, but it could be a sign of something else.
Treatment for cholesteatoma almost always requires surgery.

Hearing loss is perhaps the biggest concern for adults when it comes to their hearing health, but it’s not the only one.

You may have dealt with other hearing ear health issues, like ear pain, swimmer’s ear or a ruptured eardrum. None of these are usually very serious, but some ear and hearing problems could be indications of something that warrants a visit to your doctor. Here’s what to know about some of the most common hearing health issues and how they can be treated.

Hearing loss

More than 25 percent of adults in their 60s have some form of hearing loss, and that number jumps to nearly 66 percent for adults age 70 and older.

Free Hearing Test

AARP members can take the National Hearing Test online or on their phones — for free. This 10-minute test can help you decide whether you need a more comprehensive hearing exam.

One of the most common reasons our hearing worsens is age. But loud noises, trauma and even medications can damage your hearing, too. Options like hearing aids and cochlear implants offer solutions to help improve your hearing. Certain foods and wearing protective earplugs can help prevent further damage to your hearing.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is when you hear phantom noises like hissing and ringing in your ears that others don’t hear. About 26 million adults in the United States have tinnitus. Researchers don’t know exactly what causes tinnitus, though it’s usually linked to sensorineural hearing loss. Prescription medications you take and conditions like temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder and Ménière’s disease can also cause it. Treatments range from removing impacted earwax to using white noise machines. One of the newest FDA-approved treatments combines acoustic therapy with electric stimulation.

Ear infections

Yes, adults get ear infections, too. They’re most often caused by fluid buildup in the ear canal or middle ear. They’re painful but usually don’t last more than a few days and can be treated by antibiotics.

Impacted earwax

As we get older, changes to the glands inside our ears cause earwax, or cerumen, to become drier. This makes it harder for our ears to clean themselves as effectively. Hearing aids and earplugs also can cause earwax impaction.

The American Academy of Otolaryngology says that about one in 20 adults and more than one-third of older Americans end up with a buildup of earwax, leading to about 8 million earwax removal procedures each year. While blockages affect only 5 percent of healthy adults, 57 percent of nursing home residents have impacted earwax. Don’t use a cotton swab to clean out earwax. Instead, schedule a visit to your doctor to remove the blockage.

Itchy ears

A fungal infection or even perimenopause can cause itching in the ears. Another possible cause is psoriasis, which occurs when your immune system attacks your skin by mistake. It can be very painful if you have it on your ears, where the skin is thin. While there is no cure, doctors can help you manage symptoms.

Cholesteatoma

Cholesteatoma is a cyst, or sac, that can form in your middle ear. It’s usually caused when you have problems with your eustachian tube, which helps balance the pressure in your ear. When your ear pressure gets out of balance, your eardrum retracts and creates a pocket that can fill with dead skin cells. As the cyst grows, it can damage other structures inside your ear and cause complications like hearing loss in one ear, facial weakness and vertigo (dizziness). Cholesteatoma symptoms include a feeling of fullness in the ear and fluid drainage. Treatment usually requires surgery to remove the cholesteatoma and to sometimes repair the eardrum and hearing bones.

Editor’s note: This story, originally published on Oct. 27, 2017, has been updated to include new information.

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Sarah Gleim is a contributing writer at AARP based in Atlanta. She has also written for WebMD, Forbes, Time Inc., Discovery Communications, HowStuffWorks.com, Atlanta magazine, CNN and more.

Kim Hayes was a senior producer for AARP and has written on social justice issues for numerous organizations, including the National Organization for Women, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She served as editor of the Native American Report newsletter.