Hearing Loss Associated With Depression

HealthDay (3/7, Doheny) reports that according to a study published online March 6 in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, “hearing loss is associated with depression among American adults, especially women and those younger than age 70.” After examining data on some 18,000 adults over the age of 18 and taking into account self-reported participant information on hearing status and depression, researchers found that “as hearing declined, the percentage of depressed adults increased – from about five percent in those who had no hearing problems to more than 11 percent in those who did.” Study author Chuan-Ming Li, MD, PhD, a researcher at the US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, stated, “We found a significant association between hearing impairment and moderate to severe depression.”

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— “Hearing Loss Tied to Depression in Study,” Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay, March 6, 2014.

Posted in In The News.