Senior citizens with undiagnosed or untreated hearing problems are more likely to suffer from social isolation and cognitive impairment, a recent study has found.
According to an article published in the June 2016 edition of Ear and Hearing, researchers at the University of British Columbia, UBC Okanagan, examined the impact of undiagnosed or untreated hearing issues in seniors aged 60 to 69. The study found that for every 10 decibel drop (roughly equivalent to the sound of calm breathing) in hearing sensitivity, the odds of social isolation increased by 52%.
Among the sample of seniors, a 10-decibel reduction of hearing sensitivity was also associated with cognitive declines equivalent to almost four years of chronological aging.
Paul Mick, MD, MPH
“Hearing loss is not thought of as a public health issue and, as a result, there are often not a lot of healthcare resources that have been put towards testing and hearing support,” says Paul Mick, MD, an otologic surgeon, public health researcher, and clinical assistant professor at UBC’s Southern Medical Program. “Social isolation has been shown to have similar impacts on mortality rates as smoking and alcohol consumption, so this is something we should examine further at both the system and individual patient level.”
Dr Mick’s study examined data collected between 1999 and 2010 by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a survey that samples 5,000 people each year across the United States. The survey examines demographic, socioeconomic, dietary and health-related issues.
In a UBC announcement about the study, Dr Mick said he would like to expand his research to see if interventions such as regular hearing screening programs similar to those that are in place for young children could positively impact health outcomes for Canadian seniors.
For details of the survey study, see the article in Ear and Hearing.
Source: University of British Columbia, Okanagan
Thanks for sharing your information, which is very useful.
Can you hear music with a Cochlear Implant? I have tinnitus in both ears and am totally deaf in one. I have been offered a cochlear implant, but I can’t find out if it will enable me to hear music again. That’s all I miss.
Hi Ron,
The answer to your question varies among cochlear implant users, but by and large, CI users say that music sounds more “tinny” with the CI than it did through the natural ear. To help answer your question, we are posting a link to a blog from a musician/music lover who uses a cochlear implant…and also providing links to other articles at Hearing Review about music listening with implants:
http://www.grandpianopassion.com/2014/03/24/pat-dobbs-hearing-loss-revolution/
https://hearingreview.com/2016/03/music-reengineered-cochlear-implants-listeners/
https://hearingreview.com/2015/02/cochlear-implant-users-can-gain-benefits-music/
https://hearingreview.com/2013/10/new-strategy-lets-cochlear-implant-users-hear-music/
Hi, can you please help me on this subject. I have been told that I have tinnitus. I would be grateful if you can help.
Thank you,
Kevin Thomas
Hi Kevin,
I noticed from your email that you are located in the UK, so am providing a link here to an article about the NHS England programs for those who need hearing aids as a possible treatment for tinnitus (and other tinnitus treatments) in the UK:https://hearingreview.com/2016/07/nhs-england-launches-national-framework-hearing-services/. Many hearing aids can provide options/settings for tinnitus relief, so ask your hearing care provider about this.
You can find a hearing care professional or center in your area via the phone and email contact information for NHS England at this link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/. You might ask your hearing care provider about sound therapy as a tinnitus treatment as well. Here are additional links on our website with information about that approach: https://hearingreview.com/?s=tinnitus
Dear Mr. Thomas,
When you are located in the UK, a good start is the Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Center in London.
http://tinnitus.org
Audiologists Jacqui Sheldrake and Nicholas Lee can definitely help you with this. Hope to have helped you.
Me myself I am a medical physicist in audiology, specializing in tinnitus, trained in the late nineties by this clinic in London and now we have our own tinnitus program in the Netherlands. I see about 600 new tinnitus patients in a year. There is still a lot of work to do, because most people with tinnitus get this message “Sorry, you have tinnitus, we can not help you.” On the contrary, there is still a lot to do about it, but it is necessary to work from out of a multi-disciplinary tinnitus team.
Hope you can find your help soon!
With best regards,
Dyon Scheijen
Just sharing a good resource to support those with hearing loss and their families. This link is to the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) patient education handout library to help individuals and families understand issues related to hearing loss, balance and tinnitus. Thank you for this article highlighting hearing loss as a public health issue. http://www.asha.org/aud/pei/
I hadn’t thought about what life would be like for people who live with hearing loss, but don’t know that they have hearing loss. I can imagine it would very frustrating to a point, and like you said, I can imagine the isolation would be annoying. I really liked your approach to the topic though, and it made me think about a lot of things I hadn’t considered before. Thanks for sharing.
Ages 60-69…I am wondering why this age range?
Age 60-69 is the age range during which we begin to experience Presbycusis, or an age-related decline in hearing. Other factors, such as overall general health, heredity, and noise exposure can contribute to a decline in hearing as well.