Final answer:
The nurse should include smoking history, heredity, medications, recreational noise, and occupational noise as risk factors for hearing loss in the teaching materials for older adults. These factors can contribute to sensorineural hearing loss, which is a common form of hearing loss that can be caused by environmental exposure to loud noises.
Step-by-step explanation:
When preparing teaching materials for a group of older adults regarding risk factors for hearing loss, the nurse should include information about several core risk factors. These factors that may contribute to hearing loss include:
- A. Smoking history - Smoking can impair blood flow to the auditory system, which may increase the risk of hearing loss.
- B. Heredity - Genetic predisposition can increase the likelihood of developing hearing issues.
- C. Medications - Certain ototoxic medications can cause sensorineural hearing loss.
- D. Recreational noise - Exposure to loud noises from activities like attending concerts or listening to loud music, especially through earbuds, can damage hearing.
- E. Occupational noise - Regular exposure to loud noises at work, as might be experienced by construction workers or musicians, can lead to sensorineural hearing loss.
Environmental factors such as loud music or construction equipment (illustrated in FIGURE 5.20) are significant contributors to sensorineural hearing loss, and education on these is crucial for prevention. Hearing loss can result from several causes, including the absence or loss of hair cells in the organ of Corti, abnormal auditory nerve, fracture of the cochlea, or damage to the bones of the middle ear, among others.