Are you aware that around 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 even though so many people are impacted by hearing loss, 70% of them have never used hearing aids and for those under 69, that number drops to 16%. Depending on whose numbers you look at, there are at least 20 million people dealing with untreated hearing loss, though some estimates put this closer to 30 million.
There are numerous reasons why people may not seek treatment for hearing loss, particularly as they grow older. One study found that only 28% of people who said they suffered from hearing loss had even had their hearing examined, let alone sought additional treatment. For some folks, it’s like wrinkles or gray hair, just a part of aging. Managing hearing loss has always been more of a problem than diagnosing it, but with improvements in modern hearing aid technology, that isn’t the case now. That’s important because a growing body of research shows that treating hearing loss can help more than just your hearing.
A study from a research group based out of Columbia University adds to the documentation linking hearing loss to depression. An audiometric hearing test and a depression assessment were given to the over 5,000 individuals that they collected data from. After correcting 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 is not very loud, it’s around the volume of rustling leaves, for the record.
It’s surprising that such a little difference in hearing generates such a significant increase in the odds of suffering from depression, but the basic link isn’t a shock. This new study expands the sizable existing literature associating hearing loss and depression, like this multi-year investigation from 2000, which revealed that mental health got worse along with hearing loss. In another study, a significantly higher risk of depression was reported in people who both self reported hearing loss and individuals whose hearing loss was diagnosed from a hearing exam.
Here’s the good news: Researchers and scientists don’t believe that it’s a chemical or biological link that exists between hearing loss and depression. In all likelihood, it’s social. Trouble hearing can cause feelings of anxiety and lead sufferers to stay away from social situations or even everyday conversations. This can increase social separation, which further feeds into feelings of depression and anxiety. But this vicious cycle can be broken rather easily.
Treating hearing loss, normally with hearing aids, according to several studies, will decrease symptoms of depression. 1,000 individuals in their 70’s were studied in a 2014 study which couldn’t establish a cause and effect relationship between hearing loss and depression because it didn’t look over time, but it did reveal that those people were a lot more likely to suffer from depression symptoms if they had untreated hearing loss.
But other research, that followed subjects before and after using hearing aids, bears out the theory that treating hearing loss can help reduce symptoms of depression. Only 34 people were examined in a 2011 study, but all of them showed substantial improvements in symptoms of depressions and also mental function after using hearing aids for 3 months. Another small-scale study from 2012 revealed the same results even further out, with every single individual in the sample continuing to experience less depression six months after beginning to wear hearing aids. And even a full year after starting to use hearing aids, a group of veterans in a 1992 study were still noticing relief from depression symptoms.
Hearing loss is difficult, but you don’t have to deal with it by yourself. Get your hearing checked, and know about your options. It could help improve more than your hearing, it might 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