Old age is the golden age of life, as the song goes, “The most beautiful thing is the red sunset…” But old age is also a time when many diseases are prone to and highly prevalent. With the development of industrialization and population, China has entered the ranks of aging. By 2005, the number of elderly people over 60 years old in China had reached 144 million, accounting for 11% of the total population. This proportion will gradually increase in the future. It is a blessing for individuals, families and society if they can maintain good health in their old age. Many people take it for granted that their ears will become deaf when they grow old, thinking that it is normal for them to have deaf ears as they grow old and their organs degenerate. In fact, this kind of thinking is not correct. As our body ages, there will be a series of changes and a gradual decline in function, but this decline will be within a certain range, beyond this degree is a disease, and requires timely examination and treatment. Many elderly people do not pay attention to the sudden changes in their hearing, and sudden deafness (commonly known as “sudden deafness”) can lead to serious and even life-threatening consequences if not taken seriously enough. There are many different causes of sudden deafness in the elderly, so let’s look at a few stories to understand the situation of sudden deafness in the elderly. Story 1: Mr. Wang is 70 years old, usually in good health, after taking a bath, he suddenly felt that he could not hear his right ear, so he pulled out his own ear and felt pain. The ear canal is blocked by water. I gave him some special drops, and after 3 days, the ear was cleaned up after a review. Story 2: It’s been more than half a year since I last saw him. Two days ago, he felt that his right ear suddenly became deaf again. With the experience from last time, he thought it was still cerumen impaction and something happened at home, so he delayed for a few days before coming to the hospital for examination. I found a small amount of cerumen in the ear canal, and after removing it, Mr. Wang still felt inaudible. The hearing test revealed that he was neurologically deaf. I diagnosed it as “sudden sensorineural deafness”, and gave him an infusion for 1 week, and his hearing recovered a lot after the review. However, because he was not seen immediately, his hearing was not fully restored, which was a pity. Story 3: Mr. Zhao is 65 years old, usually not in good health, “three high” people (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high blood fat). The first thing you need to do is to take antihypertensive medication when you feel like it, but not when you feel like it. A week ago, she felt dizzy and tinnitus, and her hearing in her left ear was obviously not as good as before, but she didn’t take it seriously, she carried on, and insisted on climbing mountains for exercise. Two days ago, she felt that her back of the ear was really bad, so she came to me to see a doctor. I gave her a relevant examination and found that her blood pressure was unstable, she had severe hypertension and diabetes, and her left ear belonged to severe sensorineural deafness, so I prescribed her an infusion for sudden deafness and advised her that she must see a neurologist, and that she should control her blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids well and not climb mountains in the near future to avoid danger. She was not very obedient, did not go for immediate checkup, and climbed mountains 2-3 times a week. In the middle of the infusion, she had another dizziness attack, and at first she thought there was something wrong with the infusion, so she came to me to ask about it. She had her blood pressure measured and it reached 220/110 mmHg, and she was instructed that she must see an internal medicine department immediately to control her blood pressure and to have the appropriate neurology tests. After timely treatment, the blood pressure and blood sugar were controlled, and the cranial CT showed old and new lacunar cerebral infarction. Because the treatment was still timely, it did not lead to serious cerebrovascular sequelae, and hearing also recovered a lot. After this incident, Zhao’s mother was very scared, and her understanding of health and cooperation with treatment was much better. The doctor’s comments: the elderly external ear canal cerumen embedding is more common, generally can not deal with their own, their own indiscriminate pulling out may cause serious otitis externa, to the hospital as soon as possible to deal with. The Chinese medicine believes that “the ear is the place where the veins are gathered”. Sudden deafness may be due to sudden sensorineural deafness, which is a manifestation of sensorineural damage in the inner ear and may be related to ischemia and hypoxia in the inner ear and many organs of the body such as the liver and kidneys. The treatment of sudden deafness is very time-sensitive, and the earlier the better, the later it may be delayed. When sudden deafness occurs, you should not take it for granted that it is okay, but should go to the hospital for examination and treatment in a timely manner. I have met many elderly people who developed sudden deafness, did not treat it in time, and ended up with severe tinnitus and deafness. Many elderly people have problems with blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids, often accompanied by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems. Some elderly people adopt the attitude of strategic contempt and tactical neglect towards these diseases, allowing them to develop and often listening to doctors’ instructions as if they were deaf, which is more dangerous than the diseases themselves. Some elderly people have a one-sided understanding of healthy exercise and disregard their own condition. The blood supply to the inner ear comes from the anterior inferior cerebellar artery, which is one of the branches of the vertebrobasilar artery system. When there is a problem with the cardiovascular system, the peripheral vessels and organs often suffer. Ear manifestations, such as sudden deafness, are likely to be precursors or concomitant manifestations of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular pathology and require adequate vigilance. There are many possible causes of sudden deafness in the elderly, and it is difficult for patients to identify and diagnose it on their own, so they should not take it for granted. In order to avoid delays, it is important to go to the hospital as soon as possible once it appears, as it can be life-threatening if neglected. For elderly people who have a history of “three highs”, it is important to pay enough attention to it.