Time to read: 4 minutes
Struggling with everyday situations can be stressful - especially when it seems that everyone about you is coping just fine.
Not feeling on top of things over time can induce anxiety and one group of people most at risk are those with untreated hearing loss.
In a 12-year study of nearly 4,000 French people aged 65 and up, participants diagnosed with hearing loss at the beginning had a greater chance of developing anxiety symptoms over time.
A study of more than 1,700 adults aged 76 to 85 found those with mild hearing loss had a 32 percent higher risk of reporting anxiety. If you had a moderate or higher loss, your chance of anxiety rose by 59 percent.
Hearing loss and anxiety are a two way street.
You might be anxious because of your hearing loss - not coping well in social situations, worry about missing important information and many more reasons besides.
You might also have hearing loss because you're anxious. When you are stressed, your blood pressure changes due to an excess of adrenalin. This reduced blood flow to the ears, damaging the little hair cells in the cochlear. If left untreated the damage could be permanent.
So, what can you do if you are feeling anxious?
Fortunately there are plenty of places you can go for help. First of all, make sure you have a supportive network of friends and family. Then visit your doctor to arrange a physical to eliminate a medical cause for your anxiety.
You may wish to seek mental health support as well as speak to a counsellor or a specialist in the field.
If your hearing has been affected by anxiety, regardless of its cause, it is important to have a hearing test and to wear hearing aids if they have recommended to you.
Maximising your hearing with hearing aids has been shown to help reduce anxiety, depression and even dementia.
A study, carried out at the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, looked at data from nearly 115,000 individuals who were over 66 years old and had hearing loss.
The researchers noted significant differences between the outcomes of those with hearing loss who did wear a hearing aid compared with those who did not.
Wearing a hearing aid reduced:
- The relative risk of being diagnosed with dementia — including Alzheimer’s — by 18%
- The relative risk of being diagnosed with depression or anxiety by 11%
- The relative risk of fall-related injuries by 13%
Read more:
- Navigating the challenges of self-isolation with hearing loss
- Why It’s Important To Overcome Social Isolation After Hearing Loss
- Hearing and stress
- Maintaining Health and Well-Being
- Hearing Loss and the aging brain
- Why achieving better hearing through hearing aids can help prevent dementia
- How hearing loss affects memory and thinking
- Hearing loss and memory loss
