Hearing Impairment and Loneliness in Older Adults in the United States

Alison R. Huang; Jennifer A. Deal; George W. Rebok; Jayant M. Pinto; Linda Waite; Frank R. Lin

doi:10.1177/0733464820944082

Hearing Impairment and Loneliness in Older Adults in the United States

Alison R. Huang, Jennifer A. Deal, George W. Rebok, Jayant M. Pinto, Linda Waite, Frank R. Lin

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hearing impairment impacts fluidity of communication and social interactions and thus may contribute to loneliness. We investigated the cross-sectional association between hearing impairment and loneliness in community-dwelling older U.S. adults using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (N = 3,196). Individuals reporting fair/poor hearing had 50% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.09–2.05]) higher odds of any loneliness compared with those reporting excellent hearing after adjusting for comorbidity index, functional and cognitive ability, self-reported health, and demographic characteristics. Test for trend suggests a dose–response relationship over levels of hearing impairment. Hearing impairment is highly prevalent and may be an important target for consideration in interventions to reduce loneliness. Further investigation of whether treatment of hearing impairment alleviates loneliness and its disabling effects is also needed.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1366-1371
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Applied Gerontology
Volume	40
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464820944082
State	Published - Oct 2021

Keywords

hearing
loneliness
mental health

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Gerontology
Geriatrics and Gerontology

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10.1177/0733464820944082

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title = "Hearing Impairment and Loneliness in Older Adults in the United States",

abstract = "Hearing impairment impacts fluidity of communication and social interactions and thus may contribute to loneliness. We investigated the cross-sectional association between hearing impairment and loneliness in community-dwelling older U.S. adults using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (N = 3,196). Individuals reporting fair/poor hearing had 50% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.09–2.05]) higher odds of any loneliness compared with those reporting excellent hearing after adjusting for comorbidity index, functional and cognitive ability, self-reported health, and demographic characteristics. Test for trend suggests a dose–response relationship over levels of hearing impairment. Hearing impairment is highly prevalent and may be an important target for consideration in interventions to reduce loneliness. Further investigation of whether treatment of hearing impairment alleviates loneliness and its disabling effects is also needed.",

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author = "Huang, {Alison R.} and Deal, {Jennifer A.} and Rebok, {George W.} and Pinto, {Jayant M.} and Linda Waite and Lin, {Frank R.}",

note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: A.R.H. was supported by the National Institute on Aging (T32AG027668-13). Dr. J.A.D was supported by NIH/NIA Grant K01AG054693. Drs. J.A.D. and F.R.L. were supported in part by the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2020.",

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AU - Waite, Linda

AU - Lin, Frank R.

N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: A.R.H. was supported by the National Institute on Aging (T32AG027668-13). Dr. J.A.D was supported by NIH/NIA Grant K01AG054693. Drs. J.A.D. and F.R.L. were supported in part by the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2020.

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Hearing Impairment and Loneliness in Older Adults in the United States

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Keywords

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