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 Globally, more than 1.3 billion people currently live with some form
of hearing loss, and their ranks are expected to rise with the aging
population, the study team notes in The Gerontologist. About 13
percent of adults 40 to 49 years old have hearing loss, as do 45
percent of people 60 to 69 years old and 90 percent of adults 80 and
older, the authors write.
To assess the connection between hearing loss and depression,
researchers analyzed data from 35 previous studies with a total of
147,148 participants who were at least 60 years old.
Compared to people without hearing loss, older adults with some form
of hearing loss were 47 percent more likely to have symptoms of
depression, the study found.
"We know that older adults with hearing loss often withdraw from
social occasions, like family events because they have trouble
understanding others in noisy situations, which can lead to
emotional and social loneliness," said lead study author Blake
Lawrence of the Ear Science Institute Australia, in Subiaco, and the
University of Western Australia in Crawley.
"We also know that older adults with hearing loss are more likely to
experience mild cognitive decline and difficulty completing daily
activities, which can have an additional negative impact on their
quality of life and increase the risk of developing depression,"
Lawrence said by email.
"It is therefore possible that changes during older age that are
often described as a 'normal part of aging' may actually be
contributing to the development of depressive symptoms in older
adults with hearing loss," Lawrence said.
The connection between hearing loss and depression didn't appear to
be influenced by whether people used hearing aids, the study also
found.
One limitation of the analysis is that it included studies with a
wide variety of methods for assessing hearing loss and symptoms of
depression.
Still, the results of the analysis do add to evidence suggesting
that there is a link between hearing loss and depression, said Dr.
Nicholas Reed of the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health
at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
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First, hearing loss impairs communication and influences balance,
which can lead to social isolation and decreased physical activity
that, in turn, result in depression, Reed said.
Hearing loss may also cause tinnitus, or perceived ringing or
buzzing in the ear, that can be especially debilitating in some
cases and contribute to depression, Reed, who wasn't involved in the
study, said by email.
In addition, hearing loss may trigger changes in the brain that
contribute to depression.
"When we experience hearing loss, it also means that we're sending a
weaker auditory signal to our brains for processing," Reed said.
"This weak signal may mean our brains have to go into overdrive to
understand sound (i.e. speech) which may come at the expense of
another neural process (i.e., working memory). Also, the weak signal
may cause certain neural areas and pathways to reorganize, which
could change how our brain, including aspects that regulate
depression, function."
While the study doesn't examine whether treating hearing loss can
prevent depression or other health problems, people should still
seek help for hearing difficulties, said David Loughrey, a
researcher at the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College
Dublin who wasn't involved in the study.
"Hearing loss has been linked to difficulties in daily life
including difficulty with socializing and fatigue due to the
increased mental effort required to understand speech, especially in
noisy environments," Loughrey said by email. "If someone is
experiencing difficulties due to hearing loss or if they have any
concerns about their mental wellbeing, they should consult a medical
professional who can assist them."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2Is8P4d The Gerontologist, online March 5,
2019.
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