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If You’re Feeling Sad, Get Your Hearing Tested

Oct 31, 2013

Hearing loss isn’t just characterized by turning up the TV and leaning in when someone talks. New studies are showing that untreated hearing loss can lead to depression, and how hearing aids can turn those effects around. Find out more…

With nearly 40 million Americans suffering from some sort of hearing loss – and around 60 percent of them are in the work force! – many organizations are looking at the effects of hearing loss on the people who suffer from it, and those around them. And time and again, studies have shown that those who suffer from untreated hearing loss are more likely to suffer from depression, and an overall lower quality of life.

Generation X-ers Affected With Hearing Loss

These symptoms don’t just affect older people with hearing loss. An Italian study focused on working adults aged 35-55 years with mild to moderate hearing loss found that those participants with untreated hearing loss were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than those who didn’t have hearing impairment.

Hearing Aids Lead To Better Health

Another recent Italian study found that those people with hearing loss who wore hearing aids were less depressed, had better overall health and social interactions, and even had better relationships with their caregivers than those who left their hearing loss untreated. And the benefits associated with the wearing of hearing aids happened early on – not long after the patient began wearing the hearing aids.

Hearing Aids Help Depression And Anxiety

These findings are the same as those from over 20 years ago. Dr. Cynthia Mulrow and her colleagues published a study in 1990 that found that hearing loss in older adults had unwanted effects on their quality of life – such as depression, anxiety and loss of social interaction. The study also found that once hearing aids were used, these adverse effects often diminished or disappeared altogether.

Untreated Hearing Loss Affects You

Young or old, professional or retired, male or female, the adverse affects of untreated hearing loss can affect you, or someone you care about. It has been proven that hearing aids can help restore the quality of life for someone with hearing loss.

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