Did you know that age-related hearing impairment affects approximately one out of three adults between the ages of 65 and 74 (and about half of them are older than 75)? But even though so many people are impacted by hearing loss, 70% of them have never used hearing aids and for those under the age of 69, that number drops to 16%. 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.
As people get older, there might be a number of reasons why they would avoid getting help for their hearing loss. One study found that only 28% of individuals who reported suffering from hearing loss had even had their hearing examined, let alone sought further treatment. Many individuals just accept hearing loss as a standard part of the process of aging. Treating hearing loss has always been more of a problem than diagnosing it, but with improvements in modern hearing aid technology, that’s not the case now. This is significant because your ability to hear isn’t the only health risk associated with hearing loss.
A Columbia University research group conducted a study that linked hearing loss to depression. An audiometric hearing exam and a depression assessment were given to the over 5,000 individuals that they collected data from. For every 20 decibels of increased hearing loss, the odds of having significant depression rose by 45% according to these researchers after they took into account a host of variables. And for the record, 20 dB is very little noise, it’s quieter than a whisper, roughly on par with the sound of rustling leaves.
The basic connection between hearing loss and depression isn’t that surprising, but what is striking is how small a difference can so dramatically raise the chance of suffering from depression. This new study expands the substantial existing literature associating hearing loss and depression, like this multi-year investigation from 2000, which found that mental health got worse 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 based on hearing tests, had a significantly higher danger of depression.
The good news: The link that researchers suspect exists between hearing loss and depression isn’t chemical or biological. More than likely, it’s social. Individuals who have hearing loss will often steer clear of social situations because of anxiety and will even sometimes feel anxious about standard everyday situations. This can increase social separation, which further leads to even more feelings of anxiety and depression. But this vicious cycle can be broken rather easily.
Several studies have found that treating hearing loss, most often with hearing aids, can help to decrease symptoms of depression. 1,000 individuals in their 70’s were looked at in a 2014 study which couldn’t determine 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 a lot more likely to suffer from depression symptoms if they had untreated hearing loss.
But the hypothesis that treating hearing loss alleviates depression is reinforced by a more recent study that followed subjects before and after wearing hearing aids. A 2011 study only observed a small group of people, 34 subjects total, the researchers found that after three months with hearing aids, all of them demonstrated significant improvement in both depressive symptoms and mental functioning. Another small-scale study from 2012 revealed the same results even further out, with every single individual in the sample continuing to notice less depression six months after starting to wear hearing aids. And even a full 12 months after starting to use hearing aids, a group of veterans in a 1992 study were still experiencing relief from depression symptoms.
It’s tough coping with hearing loss but help is out there. Get your hearing examined, and learn about your solutions. It could help improve more than your hearing, it might positively affect 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.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167494310001147
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1494282
