Using hearing aids could potentially help encourage people with partial hearing loss to engage more in conversations, which could itself help to combat loneliness, improve mental health and potentially slow the progression of conditions such as dementia.
An article in Forbes suggests that hearing aids could be beneficial for some older people who are dealing with isolation and loneliness, bridging the gaps in communication and strengthening social connections.
Forbes themselves cited a study from JAMA Internal Medicine from the year before its publication, which came to similar results, but why could this be the case, and what is the basis for their findings?
To find out more, we need to look at the study itself and the foundations for these ideas, as well as what hearing aids can and cannot do to fix this.
How Does Hearing Loss Affect Social Isolation?
The JAMA Internal Medicine study written by a team at NYU Langone is an analysis of the ACHIEVE clinical trial, which found that over three years, older people treated for hearing loss had an extra person in their social circle on average compared to those who did not.
It also found that people with hearing aids had more diverse and deeper connections with others than those who did not.
Whilst the exact reasons why are still the subject of study, one potential hypothesis is that an early warning sign for hearing loss is finding it more difficult, stressful and tiring to follow conversations.
Hearing is a neurophysical activity; it takes place in the ear, but it also takes place in the brain, and many people with mild to moderate hearing loss may not initially notice a problem but feel that conversations are more mentally and physically exhausting to follow.
This fatigue discourages people from engaging in long conversations, subtly causing them to become more isolated in the process.
There is still a lot of research that needs to be done, especially with regard to the connections between hearing, isolation and dementia, but there is enough of a foundation to suggest that hearing aids can help.
How Can Hearing Aids Help With Social Isolation?
Many people who have hearing aids fitted are astonished by how much clearer conversations and sounds are, as well as how much easier it is to follow along and engage with social situations.
This latter aspect is key to their effectiveness; if conversations become less stressful and exhausting, people are more likely to want to talk for longer, which helps feed that social need and improves mental health.
This is more than increasing the volume, but about decreasing that cognitive load, which creates a virtuous cycle of boosted self-confidence and increased engagement with people around them.
Can Hearing Aids Help Everyone Dealing With Loneliness?
No, whilst hearing aids can help with listener fatigue and its contributions to social withdrawal, loneliness, depression and isolation, hearing is not the only cause of loneliness in older adults and the extent to which they can help still needs to be researched.
Whilst hearing aids cannot help fix social issues that cause loneliness, they can help remove the barriers hearing difficulties can put in place and improve mental health.