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 The reasons for the connection are not clear, researchers say, but
the results point to hearing impairment at least as a sign of, and
possibly a contributor to an older person’s survival odds.
“In the simplest terms, the worse the patient's hearing loss, the
greater the risk of death,” lead author Kevin Contrera said of the
study’s findings.
Past research has linked hearing problems to a variety of negative
health effects, but few studies have looked directly at mortality
risk, Contrera and his colleagues write in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head
and Neck Surgery.
Two thirds of adults over 70 experience hearing impairment, said
Contrera, a medical student at Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
He and his colleagues looked at data on 1,666 adults from a
nationally representative survey conducted in 2005-2006 and
2009-2010, as well as death records through the end of 2011.
The people included in the analysis were all over age 70 and had
undergone hearing testing. Using World Health Organization criteria
to define hearing impairment, and accounting for individuals’ age,
the researchers found that people with moderate or severe hearing
impairment had a 54 percent greater risk of dying than those with
normal hearing. Mild hearing impairment was linked to a 27 percent
increased risk.
The researchers then also adjusted for more variables that could
influence hearing and death risk, including sex, race, and
education, as well as heart risk factors, like stroke, smoking,
diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Even after accounting for those factors, the study team found that
people with moderately or severely impaired hearing had a 39 percent
higher risk of death than those without hearing problems, and those
with mild hearing impairment had a 21 percent greater risk.
Piers Dawes, who was not involved in the new study, notes that
hearing impairment can directly affect a person’s health and
wellbeing.
Older people with hearing loss tend to have more difficulty with
communication, are more socially isolated, and are less able to care
for their own long-term health conditions, said Dawes, a hearing
loss researcher who teaches at the University of Manchester in the
U.K.
“These sorts of secondary problems could potentially impact on
health, wellbeing and mortality,” he said.
The study observed the link between hearing problems and death, but
more research is needed to know if hearing loss is somehow a
contributing cause, Contrera cautioned.
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For instance, the researchers did not investigate whether treating
hearing impairment reduces the risk of death, which would help to
clarify the relationship.
In his own research, Dawes noted, “Among people with hearing loss,
hearing aid use was linked to better communication and better
general health, but not with reduced risk of mortality.”
A majority of older people suffer from hearing impairment, Dawes
said, and hearing loss could just be a marker of being older and
sicker in general.
Although the study focused on seniors, the findings may have value
for people of all ages, Contrera said. “Although hearing loss is
most common in older ages, certainly the earlier the treatment, the
better,” he said in an email.
Addressing hearing problems using "communication tactics, hearing
aids, or wireless communication devices could promote social
engagement, increased physical activity and better communication
with doctors and other health professionals,” Dawes said
These positive effects could, in turn, reduce mortality risk, he
said.
“Hearing loss should be appropriately identified and treated in
patients whenever possible,” Contrera said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/1PLYVEd JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery,
online September 24, 2015.
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