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- Title
Hearing-impaired adults are at increased risk of experiencing emotional distress and social engagement restrictions five years later.
- Authors
Gopinath, Bamini; Hickson, Louise; Schneider, Julie; Mcmahon, Catherine M.; Burlutsky, George; Leeder, Stephen R.; Mitchell, Paul
- Abstract
Background: we aimed to assess both cross-sectional and temporal links between measured hearing impairment and self-perceived hearing handicap, and health outcomes.Methods: in total, 811 Blue Mountains Hearing Study participants (Sydney, Australia) aged ≥55 years were examined twice (1997–99 and 2002–04). Hearing levels were measured with pure-tone audiometry. The shortened version of the hearing handicap inventory (HHIE-S) was administered, scores ≥8 defined hearing handicap.Results: baseline hearing impairment was strongly associated with 7 of the 10 HHIE-S questions, 5 years later. Individuals with and without hearing impairment at baseline reported that they felt embarrassed and/or frustrated by their hearing problem, and that it hampered their personal/social life, multivariable-adjusted OR: 11.5 (CI: 3.5–38.1), OR: 6.3 (CI: 2.5–15.7) and OR: 6.0 (CI: 2.1–17.5), respectively, 5 years later. Hearing-impaired, compared with non-hearing-impaired adults had a significantly higher risk of developing moderate or severe hearing handicap, OR: 3.35 (CI: 1.91–5.90) and OR: 6.60 (CI: 1.45–30.00), respectively. Cross-sectionally (at wave 2), hearing handicap increased the odds of depressive symptoms and low self-rated health by 80 and 46%, respectively.Conclusion: older, hearing-impaired adults were significantly more likely to experience emotional distress and social engagement restrictions (self-perceived hearing handicap) directly due to their hearing impairment.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; PSYCHOLOGICAL stress; AUDIOMETRY; CHI-squared test; CONFIDENCE intervals; MENTAL depression; EPIDEMIOLOGY; HEARING disorders; RESEARCH funding; T-test (Statistics); LOGISTIC regression analysis; DATA analysis; SEVERITY of illness index; DATA analysis software
- Publication
Age & Ageing, 2012, Vol 41, Issue 5, p618
- ISSN
0002-0729
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/ageing/afs058