Are you aware that about one out of three adults between the ages of 65 and 74 is impacted by hearing loss and half of them are older than 75? But in spite of its prevalence, only around 30% of individuals who have hearing loss have ever used hearing aids (and that number drops to 16% for those under the age of 69! At least 20 million people suffer from untreated hearing loss and some reports put this number at over 30 million.
As people get older, there may be numerous reasons why they would avoid seeking help for their hearing loss. One study revealed that only 28% of individuals who reported suffering from hearing loss had even had their hearing tested, let alone sought further treatment. For some people, it’s like gray hair or wrinkles, just a part of aging. Managing hearing loss has always been more of a problem than diagnosing it, but with developments in modern hearing aid technology, that isn’t the situation anymore. This is significant because your ability to hear isn’t the only health risk associated with hearing loss.
A Columbia University research group carried out a study that connected hearing loss to depression. An audiometric hearing test and a depression assessment were given to the over 5,000 individuals that they compiled data from. After adjusting for a range of variables, the researchers found that the odds of having clinically significant symptoms of depression goes up by around 45% for every 20-decibel increase in hearing loss. And 20 decibels isn’t very loud, it’s around the volume of rustling leaves, for the record.
It’s surprising that such a little difference in hearing creates such a large increase in the odds of developing depression, but the basic connection isn’t a shock. This new study contributes to the substantial existing literature associating hearing loss and depression, like this multi-year analysis from 2000, which revealed that mental health worsened along with hearing loss. Another study from 2014 that revealed both people who self-reported difficulty hearing and who were found to have hearing loss according to hearing tests, had a substantially higher risk of depression.
Here’s the good news: The link that researchers surmise exists between hearing loss and depression isn’t biological or chemical. It’s probably social. Trouble hearing can lead to feelings of stress and anxiety and lead sufferers to avoid social interaction or even everyday conversations. The social separation that results, feeds into feelings of depression and anxiety. It’s a vicious cycle, but it’s also one that’s broken easily.
Treating hearing loss, normally with hearing aids, according to numerous studies, will reduce symptoms of depression. A 2014 study that looked at data from over 1,000 individuals in their 70s found that those who used hearing aids were significantly less likely to cope with symptoms of depression, although the authors did not define a cause-and-effect relationship since they weren’t looking at data over time.
But other research, which observed subjects before and after wearing hearing aids, reinforces the hypothesis that treating hearing loss can help reduce symptoms of depression. Only 34 individuals were assessed in a 2011 study, but all of them showed substantial improvements in depression symptoms and also cognitive function after using hearing aids for 3 months. Another small-scale study from 2012 found the same results even further out, with every single person in the sample continuing to notice less depression six months after starting to wear hearing aids. And even a full year after beginning to use hearing aids, a group of veterans in a 1992 study were still experiencing relief from symptoms of depression.
Hearing loss is difficult, but you don’t have to go it alone. Learn what your solutions are by getting a hearing test. Your hearing will be enhanced and so will your overall quality of life.
References
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/age-related-hearing-loss
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27818440
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing#8
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2664072
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2717904
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2717904
https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/40/3/320/605349
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24604103
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3773611/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167494310001147
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1447-0594.2011.00789.x
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1494282
