Psychological effects of hearing aid use in older adults.
Hearing impairment in older adults is a chronic condition with high prevalence that shows negative correlations with communication, social integration, well-being, and cognition. In the present study, a group of elderly individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss who received a hearing aid for the first time in their lives (aural rehabilitation group, n = 70) and two age-matched control groups (hearing-impaired control group without hearing aids, n = 42, approximately normal hearing control group, n = 28) were tested longitudinally over a 6-month period. Measures examined their performance in the domains of communication problems, social activities, satisfaction with social relationships, well-being, and cognition. Data analyses show that in older persons with mild to moderate hearing loss, hearing aid use has positive effects on self-perceived hearing handicap, but there is no effect of hearing aid use in domains like social activities, satisfaction with social relations, well-being, and cognitive functioning.
Tesch-Römer
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Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University, Greifswald, Germany. tesch@rz.uni-greifswald.de
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006309:Hearing; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction