Could loneliness occur for some older folks because they can’t hear well enough to maintain essential social connections?
Hearing aids appear to be an effective method of countering an epidemic of loneliness among U.S. seniors, a new study says.
Seniors given hearing aids retained more friends than others who weren’t provided the devices, researchers reported May 12 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Folks with hearing aids retained an average of one additional person in their social network over three years, compared to a group only provided tips on healthy aging, researchers report.
“These results support efforts to incorporate hearing aid coverage into Medicare as a means of addressing the nation’s social isolation epidemic, which is especially risky for the elderly,” said co-principal investigator Dr. Josef Coresh, a professor of population health at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
“Making sure Americans can continue engaging with their family and friends as they age is a critical part of maintaining their quality of life,” Coresh added in a news release.
More than a quarter of seniors say they have little to no contact with others, and a third report feeling lonely, researchers said in background notes.
In 2023, then-U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a report warning of an epidemic of loneliness and isolation in America that has contributed to health problems like tobacco use, obesity and addiction, researchers said.
Loneliness and hearing loss also have been linked to depression, heart disease, cognitive decline and early death, researchers said.
Two-thirds of seniors 70 and older suffer from hearing loss, researchers noted. Hearing plays a vital role in communication and social connection, and people who are hard of hearing might struggle to maintain relationships.
For the clinical trial, researchers tracked nearly 1,000 men and women with hearing loss in Maryland, North Carolina, Minnesota and Mississippi.
Half of the participants ages 70 through 84 were provided hearing aids, as well as counseling sessions and personalized instruction from an audiologist. When necessary, they also were provided tools like adaptors that connect hearing aids to televisions.
The other half were given advice on healthy aging such as exercise tips and strategies for communicating with health care providers, but no hearing aids or hearing assistance, the study says.
Researchers measured the participants’ social isolation by tracking how regularly they spent time with others and assessing the size and variety of their social networks.
Before the study, participants in both groups reported feeling equally lonely, researchers said.
Three years later, loneliness scores had improved slightly among those who’d received hearing aids, but slightly worsened among those who hadn’t, results show.
“Our findings add to evidence that helping aging patients hear better can also enrich their social lives and boost their mental and physical well-being,” lead researcher Nicholas Reed, an audiologist with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Optimal Aging Institute, said in a news release.
Hearing aids and audiology appointments cost an average $4,700, which is usually paid out of pocket, Coresh noted.
Researchers plan to continue following the participants for another three years, and to repeat the clinical trial in a more diverse group of patients, Coresh said.
Coresh noted that participants received hearing care that was more responsive to patients’ needs than is typically offered to the public. For example, damaged hearing aids were replaced within days rather than weeks.