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Posted on Oct 21, 2016, 6 a.m.
Hearing loss is an under-recognized disease that can have profound consequences for quality of life.
People who have hearing difficulties struggle to maintain connected in today’s hectic, technology-driven world. David Myers, from Hope College (Michigan, USA), profiled the psychology of hearing and hearing loss. He shares that a National Council on Aging study of 2,304 people with hearing loss reports that those who didn't wear hearing aids were 50% more likely to suffer from sadness or depression than people who did wear them. Additionally, hearing aid users were much more likely to participate in social activities regularly. Many hard of hearing people, resisted hearing technology - waiting an average of six years from the first signs of hearing loss before getting treatment, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Adults with hearing loss between the ages of 20 and 69 are half as likely as adults 70 or older to use hearing aids,
Myers D. “A Quiet World: The Psychology of Hearing and Hearing Loss.” Presentation at American Psychological Association 123rd Annual Convention, 7 Aug. 2015.
