Are you aware that around one in three people between the ages of 65 and 74 is affected by hearing loss and half of them are older than 75? But even though so many individuals are impacted by hearing loss, 70% of them have never used hearing aids and for people under the age of 69, that number drops to 16%. Depending on which numbers you look at, there are at least 20 million individuals dealing with untreated hearing loss, though some estimates put this closer to 30 million.
As people get older, there may be numerous reasons why they would avoid getting help for their hearing loss.
Only 28% of people who confirmed some degree of hearing loss actually got examined or sought further treatment, according to one study. For some folks, it’s like wrinkles or gray hair, just a part of growing old. 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 very treatable condition. That’s relevant because a growing body of research indicates that managing hearing loss can improve more than your hearing.
A Columbia University research group conducted a study that linked hearing loss to depression. They gathered data from over 5,000 people aged 50 and up, giving each subject an audiometric hearing exam and also evaluating them for symptoms of depression. After adjusting for a range of variables, the researchers found that the odds of suffering with clinically significant symptoms of depression increased by around 45% for every 20-decibel increase in hearing loss. And for the record, 20 dB is very little noise, it’s quieter than a whisper, approximately equal to the sound of rustling leaves.
It’s surprising that such a little difference in hearing produces such a significant increase in the chances of suffering from depression, but the basic connection isn’t a shock. The fact that mental health worsens as hearing loss gets worse is demonstrated by this research and a multi-year analysis from 2000, expanding a considerable body of literature linking the two. In another study, a significantly higher danger of depression was reported in people who both self reported hearing loss and people whose hearing loss was diagnosed from a hearing exam.
Here’s the good news: The link that researchers surmise exists between hearing loss and depression isn’t chemical or biological. More than likely, it’s social. Individuals who have hearing loss will frequently steer clear of social interaction due to anxiety and will even often feel anxious about standard everyday situations. The social separation that results, feeds into feelings of anxiety and depression. But this vicious cycle can be broken fairly easily.
Treating hearing loss, usually with hearing aids, according to multiple studies, will reduce symptoms of depression. 1.000 people in their 70’s were studied in a 2014 study which couldn’t define a cause and effect relationship between depression and hearing loss because it didn’t look over time, but it did show that those people were a lot more likely to suffer from depression symptoms if they had untreated hearing loss.
But the theory that treating hearing loss relieves depression is bolstered by a more recent study that followed subjects before and after getting hearing aids. Only 34 individuals were assessed in a 2011 study, but all of them showed substantial improvements in symptoms of depressions and also cognitive function after using hearing aids for 3 months. And those results are long lasting as reported by a small-scale study conducted in 2012 which demonstrated continuing relief in depression symptoms for every single subject who used hearing aids as much as 6 months out. And even a full year after starting to use hearing aids, a group of veterans in a 1992 study were still noticing relief from symptoms of depression.
Hearing loss is difficult, but you don’t have to go it alone. Find out what your options are by having your hearing tested. Your hearing will be improved and so will your general 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.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1494282