Did you know that age-related hearing impairment affects approximately one out of three individuals between the ages of 65 and 74 (and about half of those 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 69, that number drops to 16%. Depending on which numbers you look at, there are at least 20 million people suffering from neglected hearing loss, though some estimates put this closer to 30 million.
As people get older, there could be numerous reasons why they would avoid getting help for their hearing loss. Only 28% of people who reported some degree of hearing loss actually got examined or looked into further treatment, according to one study. Many people just accept hearing loss as a standard part of the aging process. Treating hearing loss has always been a bigger problem than diagnosing it, but with developments in modern hearing aid technology, that isn’t the case anymore. This is significant because your ability to hear is not the only health hazard associated with hearing loss.
A Columbia University research group performed a study that connected hearing loss to depression. An audiometric hearing test and a depression screening were given to the over 5,000 individuals that they gathered data from. After correcting for a range of variables, the researchers found that the odds of having 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 lower than a whisper, roughly on par with the sound of rustling leaves.
It’s surprising that such a little difference in hearing creates such a significant increase in the chances of developing depression, but the basic link isn’t a shock. The fact that mental health gets worse as hearing loss gets worse is demonstrated by this research and a multi-year investigation from 2000, adding to a sizable body of literature linking the two. Another study from 2014 that revealed both individuals who self-reported problems hearing and who were found to have hearing loss based on hearing tests, had a substantially higher risk of depression.
Here’s the good news: The relationship that researchers surmise exists between hearing loss and depression isn’t chemical or biological. It’s most likely social. Individuals who have hearing loss will often avoid social interaction because of anxiety and will even often feel anxious about standard day-to-day situations. The social separation that results, feeds into feelings of anxiety and depression. It’s a terrible cycle, but it’s also one that’s broken easily.
Multiple studies have found that treating hearing loss, typically with hearing aids, can help to decrease symptoms of depression. A 2014 study that looked at data from over 1,000 people in their 70s discovered that those who used hearing aids were significantly less likely to suffer from symptoms of depression, even though the authors did not define a cause-and-effect relationship since they were not viewing the data over time.
But other research, which followed subjects before and after wearing hearing aids, bears out the theory that treating hearing loss can help reduce symptoms of depression. A 2011 study only observed a small group of people, 34 subjects altogether, the researchers discovered that after three months with hearing aids, all of them demonstrated considerable improvement in both depressive symptoms and mental functioning. Another small-scale study from 2012 revealed the same results even further out, with every single person in the sample continuing to experience less depression six months after beginning to use hearing aids. And in a study from 1992 that looked at a bigger group of U.S. military veterans suffering from hearing loss, found that a full 12 months after starting to use hearing aids, the vets were still noticing reduced symptoms of depression.
Hearing loss is hard, but you don’t need to deal with it by yourself. Get your hearing examined, and know about your options. It could benefit more than your hearing, it might positively affect your quality of life in ways you hadn’t even envisioned.
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