Health Providers

With so much research being done on age-related hearing loss, it can be hard for healthcare providers and caregivers to stay current with the latest findings and recommendations. To assist, here are highlights from the field, as well as information about a recommended screening protocol and guide for caregivers.

Delaying treatment for age-related hearing loss can affect people's physical and mental health. Watch a video on the Health Impacts of Age-Related Hearing Loss.

Health providers are encouraged to visit the Ida Institute website. The Ida Institute is a nonprofit organization that works to integrate person-centered care in hearing health care.

Research

Research has shown a strong correlation between age-related hearing loss and accelerated physical and cognitive decline.

Impact on other Health Conditions
- Older adults with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia and their risk increases as hearing loss becomes more severe. Lin, Metter, et al, "Hearing Loss and Incident Dementia," 1
- It can take so much concentration to hear and understand, that older adults with hearing loss may have trouble doing even the simplest things - like listening and walking at the same time. Also, they may find that they are exhausted from the effort it takes to hear. Ferrucci, "Functional Reserves and Hearing" 2
- Although the brain usually becomes smaller with age, the shrinkage seems to be fast-tracked in older adults with hearing loss, especially in areas that are related to memory. (Lin, Ferucci, et al, "Association of Hearing Impairment with Brain Volume Changes in Older Adults, 3
- Older adults with hearing loss are 32 percent more likely to have been admitted to a hospital. Genther et al, 2013. "Association of hearing loss with hospitalization and burden of disease in older adults." 4
- Even older adults with mild hearing loss are 3x more likely to have a history of falling than those without hearing loss. The likelihood of falling increases with the severity of hearing loss. Lin and Ferrucci, "Hearing Loss and Falls Among Older Adults in the United States," 5
- Older adults with hearing loss are at greater risk of traffic accidents. Picard et al., 2008. "Could driving safety be compromised by noise exposure at work and noise-induced hearing loss?" and Hickson et al., 2010. "Hearing impairment affects older people's ability to drive in the presence of distracters." 6
Impact on Social Engagement
- Hearing loss in seniors is associated with social isolation. Weinstein and Ventry. 1982. "Hearing impairment and social isolation in the elderly," 7
- Older adults with hearing loss are 57 percent more likely to have deep episodes of stress, depression or bad mood (for more than 10 days) Lin et al., "Hearing loss and depression in older adults," 8
- In addition, hearing loss in adults can cause problems for their primary communication partner - usually a significant other. It reduces their quality of life, and it a source of stress and lowers satisfaction with the relationship. Kochkin, S., & Rogin, C. M. A. (2000). Quantifying the obvious: The impact of hearing instruments on quality of life. 9
General Impact
- Hearing loss is the 3rd most common chronic condition in older adults, after arthritis and heart disease Collins, J. G. (1997). Prevalence of selected chronic conditions: United States 1990-1992 10
- Nearly 2/3 of all adult over 70 have a hearing loss that can impair communication Lin, Nipart & Ferrucci, Hearing Loss Prevalence in the United States 11
- In addition, 2/3 of people with hearing loss begin to lose their hearing before age 60 National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) Epidemiology and Statistics Program 12
- With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day for the next 15 years, the number of older people with hearing loss will increase significantly.
- Pacala JT, Yueh, B. Hearing Deficits in the Older Patient: I Didn't Notice Anything. 13
- National Research Council held a workshop to examine the ways in which age-related hearing loss affects healthy aging, and how public and private stakeholders can work together to address hearing loss in older adults as a public health issue. This document summarizes the workshop.
Footnotes

1. Lin, Metter, et al, "Hearing Loss and Incident Dementia," Arch Neural vol 68 (no 2), Feb 2011, pp. 214 - 220

2. Ferrucci, "Functional Reserves and Hearing" presentation at Nat'l Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine "Hearing Loss and Healthy Aging Workshop", Jan. 2014

3. (Lin, Ferucci, et al, "Association of Hearing Impairment with Brain Volume Changes in Older Adults," NeuroImage 90 (2014) pp 84 - 92

4. Genther et al, 2013. "Association of hearing loss with hospitalization and burden of disease in older adults." Journal of the American Medical Association 309(22): 2322-2324

5. Lin and Ferrucci, "Hearing Loss and Falls Among Older Adults in the United States," Arch Intern Med. 2012 Feb 27; 172(4): 369-371

6. Picard et al., 2008. "Could driving safety be compromised by noise exposure at work and noise-induced hearing loss?" Traffic Injury Prevention 9(5): 498-499; Hickson et al., 2010. "Hearing impairment affects older people's ability to drive in the presence of distracters." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 58(6): 1097-1103

7. Weinstein and Ventry. 1982. "Hearing impairment and social isolation in the elderly," Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 25(4):593-599

8. Lin et al., "Hearing loss and depression in older adults," J Am Geriatr Soc. 2031 Sep; 61(9): 1627-9

9. Kochkin, S., & Rogin, C. M. A. (2000). Quantifying the obvious: The impact of hearing instruments on quality of life. Hearing Review, 7(1), 8-34.

10. Collins, J. G. (1997). Prevalence of selected chronic conditions: United States 1990-1992. Vital and Health Statistics, 10(194). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics

11. Lin, Nipart & Ferrucci, "Hearing Loss Prevalence in the United States," Arch Intern Med vol 171 (no 20), Nov 14, 2011, pp. 1851 - 1852

12. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) Epidemiology and Statistics Program, 2012. Based upon data from the National Health Interview Survey 2007.
13. Pacala JT, Yueh, B. Hearing Deficits in the Older Patient: I Didn't Notice anything. Jama. 2012;307(11):1185-1194. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.305.
Recommended Screening Protocol for Medical Providers (Minnesota Department of Health)

In 2015, a subcommittee of the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing' Age-Related Hearing Loss Task Force (including Dr. James Pacala, Dr. Bevan Yueh and Dr. Mark DeRuiter from the University of Minnesota) recommended screening all adults aged 55 and older for hearing loss, using either a hand-held audiometer (preferred), or if an audiometer is not available, asking the global question, "Do you have trouble hearing, or has anyone suggested that you might be having trouble hearing?"