Hearing Loss Tied to Increased Risk for Depression

A study published in The Gerontologist found older adults with hearing loss may be more vulnerable to depression than those without hearing loss, reports Reuters Health . The researchers analyzed data from 35 earlier studies, comprising a total of 147,148 participants at least 60 years old. Older adults with some form of hearing loss were 47 percent more likely than those with normal hearing to exhibit depression symptoms. "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 the University of Western Australia's Blake Lawrence. Mild cognitive decline and difficulty completing daily activities also are more likely behaviors in such individuals, which can elevate the risk of depression. "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 noted.