Did you know that age-related hearing impairment affects about one in three people between the ages of 65 and 74 (and about half of those are over 75)? But despite its prevalence, only about 30% of those who have hearing loss have ever used hearing aids (and that number drops to 16% for those under the age of 69! Depending on whose numbers you look at, there are at least 20 million individuals dealing with untreated hearing loss, although some estimates put this closer to 30 million.
There are numerous reasons why people may not seek treatment for hearing loss, especially as they get older. One study found that only 28% of individuals who said they suffered from hearing loss had even gotten their hearing examined, let alone sought further treatment. Many people just accept hearing loss as a normal part of getting older. Hearing loss has always been easy to diagnose, but thanks to the considerable developments that have been made in hearing aid technology, it’s also a highly treatable condition. This is significant because your ability to hear isn’t the only health risk associated with hearing loss.
A study from a research group based at Columbia University adds to the documentation relating hearing loss to depression. They collected data from over 5,000 adults aged 50 and older, giving each subject an audiometric hearing test and also evaluating them for symptoms of depression. For every 20 decibels of increased hearing loss, the chances of having significant depression rose by 45% according to these researchers after they adjusted for a host of variables. And 20 decibels is not very loud, it’s about the volume of rustling leaves, for the record.
It’s surprising that such a small difference in hearing creates such a significant increase in the chances of suffering from depression, but the basic relationship isn’t a shocker. This new study adds to the sizable existing literature connecting hearing loss and depression, like this multi-year analysis from 2000, which found that mental health got worse along with hearing loss. Another study from 2014 that found both people who self-reported difficulty hearing and who were found to have hearing loss based on hearing tests, had a significantly higher danger of depression.
Here’s the good news: The link that researchers suspect exists between hearing loss and depression isn’t biological or chemical. It’s most likely social. Individuals with hearing loss will often steer clear of social interaction due to anxiety and will even often feel anxious about typical day-to-day situations. This can increase social isolation, which further feeds into feelings of anxiety and depression. It’s a terrible cycle, but it’s also one that’s easily broken.
Treating hearing loss, usually with hearing aids, according to numerous studies, will reduce symptoms of depression. 1.000 people in their 70’s were studied in a 2014 study which couldn’t establish a cause and effect relationship between depression and hearing loss because it didn’t look over time, but it did demonstrate that those people were far more likely to experience depression symptoms if they had untreated hearing loss.
But the theory that treating hearing loss alleviates depression is reinforced by a more recent study that followed subjects before and after getting hearing aids. Only 34 people were evaluated in a 2011 study, but all of them showed significant improvements in depression symptoms and also cognitive function after wearing hearing aids for 3 months. Another small-scale study from 2012 revealed 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 in a study from 1992 that looked at a bigger group of U.S. military veterans suffering from hearing loss, revealed that a full 12 months after beginning to use hearing aids, the vets were still noticing less symptoms of depression.
It’s difficult dealing with hearing loss but help is out there. Get your hearing checked, and learn about your solutions. It could help improve more than your hearing, it could positively impact your quality of life in ways you hadn’t even imagined.
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
