Choice to Use Hearing Aids Associated with Mental-Health Benefits: A Longitudinal Study

Objectives: Mental-health issues and untreated hearing loss contributed over 460 million disability-adjusted life years in 2019, costing approximately $6 trillion USD in economic losses. Furthermore, previous research has found untreated hearing loss to be a significant, modifiable risk factor of mental-health issues. However, whether hearing-loss treatment with hearing aids alleviates associated elevations in mental-health symptoms is unknown. Thus, the current study longitudinally assessed whether hearing-aid use can improve depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in those with hearing loss. Methods: We tested 179 middle-aged-to-older adults (ages 40 to 89 years) who, based on an audiometric assessment and choice to be treated, were assigned to normal-hearing (n = 44), hearing-aided (n = 72), and hearing-loss (n = 63) groups. Participants completed the short-form Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) at four timepoints (baseline, three months, six months, 12 months). Data were analysed with linear mixed-effects modelling. Results: Results showed that depression, anxiety, and stress levels of those who chose hearing-aid treatment were more stable than those with moderate-to-worse hearing loss who chose no treatment; those who chose hearing-aid treatment also showed similar levels to those with normal hearing. Conclusions: The current findings suggest that those with moderate-to-worse hearing loss who choose no hearing-loss treatment are at greater risk of mental-health issues; conversely, those who choose treatment with hearing aids appear to be at lower risk. However, randomised controlled trials are needed to ascertain whether treatment with hearing aids can cause reduction in mental-health symptomology of those with hearing loss