Study finds correlation between hearing-aid use, reduced mortality

With the pandemic largely in the rear-view mirror, quality of life has improved. The sights, smells and sounds of a busy world are once again part of daily life.

But for one large group, the weakening of one of those senses continues to burden quality of life — and even increase mortality rates.

Hearing loss affects nearly 20% of the global population – more than 1.5 billion people – with estimates from the World Health Organization that more than 700 million people will experience disabling hearing loss.

In the past, hearing loss has been linked to several physical and social issues ranging from depression to an elevated risk of diabetes, dementia and other illnesses.

Dennis Thomas, president of Beltone Central California, has worked in audiology since 1985, prescribing and maintaining hearing aids and providing insight to patients and their families into the causes, treatments and side effects of hearing loss.

“It’s all about a better quality of life with friends and loved ones, business relationships, whatever it might be,” Thomas said. “It’s extremely evident when the hearing aid needs to go in for repair and they have to go a couple days without it.”

A recent study from Keck Medicine of USC backs up those claims, finding that adults suffering from hearing loss who use hearing aids see a 24% lower risk of mortality when compared to those who have never used them.

“These results are exciting because they suggest that hearing aids may play a protective role in people’s health and prevent early death,” said Janet Choi, MD, MPH, with Keck Medicine in an article published by the private research university.

The study adds that while previous research revealed that hearing loss could result in a reduced life expectancy, new research directly examined if the use of hearing aids resulted in a lower mortality rate.

The findings linked a nearly 25% difference in mortality rate between hearing aid users and non-hearing aid users from a variety of different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities and economic backgrounds, among other factors.

Choi expressed that, despite the study not examining why hearing aids directly help individuals experience longer lives, there is a definite correlation, speculating that “the improvements in mental health and cognition that come with improved hearing can promote better overall health, which may improve life span.”

Thomas largely agrees with the sentiment, providing first-hand experiences of his own patients’ hearing loss journey.

Thomas said that some of the long-term effects of hearing loss are not just hearing related, but can affect the quality of life, adding that the brain can actually atrophy in language recognition after prolonged hearing loss.

“I’ve had people in denial – couples come in – and I’ve had the husband say ‘Either I get a divorce or I get hearing aids,’” Thomas said. “When it gets to that point, that frustration in there and that kind of impact in your life is pretty darn stressful.”

Thomas said that the stresses that come with patients’ personal lives range from relationship to family issues and even work-related issues.

The direct danger is obvious – not being able to hear warning sirens, approaching hazards such as vehicles or heavy machinery – but the unseen signs weigh just as heavily, just in a different way.

Thomas said that, for many patients, the “aha!” moment comes when patients experience day-to-day life activities such as watching television. Many individuals experiencing hearing loss will create their own storylines, not just in entertainment, but in daily life.

That can pose a serious issue in work-related and relationship-related issues.

Recognition of hearing loss is key to get early help, according to Thomas.

“That has a direct bearing on how high a quality of life we can [have],” Thomas said. “How much stress we can relieve when we have a more healthy ear to work with when we get the hearing loss treated early.”

Choi, who was born with hearing loss in her left ear, said that – despite several barriers to hearing aids including cost, stigma and difficulty in finding appropriate devices – finding the right solution is essential in improving quality of life.

It took Choi until she was in her 30s to start wearing a hearing aid and even then it took several years to find one that fit correctly.

Choi hopes that larger studies will further the understanding of the link between lowered mortality rates and the use of hearing aids.