WASHINGTON, Jan 3 — New US research has found that hearing loss as we age could be linked to an increased risk of depression, and the greater the hearing loss, the greater the risk. 

Carried out by researchers at Columbia University and The George Washington University, the new study looked at data taken from 5,239 Latino adults over age 50 who were enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. 

Each participant completed an audiometric hearing test, which objectively assesses hearing loss, and was screened for depression. 

The team also adjusted for other potentially influencing factors such as hearing aid use, age, sex, cardiovascular disease and antidepressant use.

Advertisement

The findings, published online in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, showed that participants with mild hearing loss were almost twice as likely to have clinically significant symptoms of depression than those with normal hearing, and those with severe hearing loss had over four times the odds of having depressive symptoms.

“Most people over age 70 have at least mild hearing loss, yet relatively few are diagnosed, much less treated, for this condition,” says lead author Justin S. Golub, MD, MS. “Hearing loss is easy to diagnose and treat, and treatment may be even more important if it can help ease or prevent depression.”

Age-related hearing loss is the third-most common chronic condition in older adults and has already been linked to an increased risk of other conditions, including cognitive impairment and dementia.

Advertisement

However, previous studies looking at an association between hearing loss and depression have been limited by using subjective rather than objective hearing measures, small sample sizes, and including mainly white populations.

The new study looked at a link between the two condition at a single point in time, so it can’t prove that hearing loss is a cause of depression, but Golub added that “it’s understandable how hearing loss could contribute to depressive symptoms. People with hearing loss have trouble communicating and tend to become more socially isolated, and social isolation can lead to depression.”

Golub also noted that the results could be applied to other populations with age-related hearing loss, not only Latinos. “In general, older individuals should get their hearing tested and consider treatment, if warranted,” he adds. — AFP-Relaxnews