Currently 432 million adults and at least 34 million children are suffering from disabling hearing loss according to the World Health Organization (WHO). While these statistics are startling, the same organization predicts that 1 in 10 people or over 700 million people on the planet will have disabling hearing loss by 2025. The issue with hearing loss is that it does not only affect your hearing abilities, it can have related effects including psychological distress and financial struggles. 

Link between hearing and mental health 

Communication plays an important role in helping us build healthy relationships and positive emotions. Nearly every facet of our lives are influenced by the ability to have easy communications with our loved ones, friends, and new people. 

Therefore, when we lose the ability to hear and understand things, it becomes difficult to connect with others, making us feel isolated from the world. This withdrawal from the rest of the world and being unable to engage in life, increase the risk of developing psychological problems. 

It is therefore true that our ability to communicate is intrinsically connected to our mental wellbeing. 

How losing hearing ability can affect our mental health 

A person with hearing disability may find it difficult to properly react and respond to the world around them. This – struggling to communicate appropriately – can cause frustration, anger, disappointment, or even embarrassment. Some even may feel that others are gossiping about them. 

All these byproducts of hearing loss can cause mental fatigue and eventually, lead people to restrain from the world and into self-imposed isolation. Choosing to be alone because of the inability to hear and communicate can have massive side effects on your overall health. Prolonged self-imposed isolation can increase the risks of mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression.

What’s more, self-imposed isolation can also have negative impact on our physical health according to Deepak Chopra. “Isolation and loneliness create the conditions for rapid aging. They key is to stay connected and open to new relationships throughout life,” he notes. 

People living with hearing loss can feel like they don’t belong; like outsiders even within their own family. They feel like observers instead of feeling engaged and involved in things. 

Studies have linked hearing loss and mental illness in adults of all ages and populations, making it important to seek mental health assistance if you experience any kind of hearing impairment. 

Statistics on Hearing Loss and Mental Wellbeing 

Almost 22% of adults above 70 years old experience hearing loss that affects how they communicate. Additionally, less than 25% of adults with disabling hearing loss actually use hearing aid, despite the fact that there are lots of affordable hearing aid models in the market. 

Studies have also shown that older adults with hearing loss are more likely to develop mental breakdown than those without hearing impairment. According to one study, older adults with deafness were 47% more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms. Another meta-analysis discovered that older adults experiencing hearing loss suffered from mental breakdown at the rate of 1.47 times that of people with normal hearing.

Hearing loss has also been linked to increased rates of anxiety and other mental health conditions. For instance, a French study found that 10% of older adults with severe deafness reported suicidal ideation.

In addition to the above, losing the ability to hear and communicate properly has been associated with rapid cognitive decline, which can affect memory, concentration, learning, and even decision-making. What’s more, the likelihood of dementia is doubled in individuals with mild hearing loss and tripled in people with moderate deafness. 

In children, hearing loss can increase the frequencies of anxiety as well as depressive conditions compared to their counterparts with normal hearing. 

It is evident that hearing loss can result in a greater chance of developing psychological distress and cognitive decline. It is therefore important to address the symptoms of hearing loss early instead of waiting for it to get severe.

Detecting and treating hearing loss early can significantly help reduce the unwanted effects on psychological health and quality of life.

How Hearing Aid use Can Help

Regular use of hearing aid has been found to lower the prevalence of depression. In fact, some studies have demonstrated significant reduction in depressive symptoms within just 90 days of wearing hearing aids. 

Wearing hearing aids improves your social interactions, allowing you to better engage in conversations and social situations. This reduce or even eliminate the feelings that you don’t belong. 

Once you get your hearing back through the help of hearing aids, you can start experiencing better overall quality of life and wellbeing. 

A study conducted by the University of Michigan on the link between using hearing aid and the onset of depression, anxiety, or dementia, found that people using hearing aid had lower risk of these conditions.

While the use of hearing aid does not necessarily mean you stop using mental health services, it noticeably influence certain behaviors. For example, adults who are 65 years and below are less likely to use anxiety drugs if they regularly wear hearing aids, while adults above 65 years are highly likely to seek mental health care services even if they us hearing aid. This is probably due to the access to better care or increased awareness to mental health services. 

Counter the Psychological Distress of Hearing Loss with Hearing Aids

Multiple studies have shown that losing the ability to hear and communicate properly can contribute to psychological grief. But some studies have also shown that using hearing aids along with mental health care services, can help assuage the mental anguish associated with hearing loss. 

Hearing aids give you back the ability to hear and communicate and make your social interactions easier and fun again. You will no longer feel isolated and lonely, which are the number one triggers of psychological distress. Since you could hear again, you can get emotional support from your family and friends and distract you from stressors. 

Talk to us today for modern, invisible hearing aids that will help you alleviate psychological distress of hearing loss.