The impact of hearing loss on trajectories of depressive symptoms in married couples

West, Jessica; Smith, Sherril; Dupre, Matthew E.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115780

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 74 publications

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“…Among older adults over 70 years of age, those with hearing loss were also more likely to have a history of cardiovascular disease and stroke, resulting in an increased mortality risk ( Contrera et al, 2015 ). Hearing loss is also associated with worse depressive symptoms ( West et al, 2023 ), greater prevalence of dementia ( Huang et al, 2023 ), higher rates of difficulties in activities of daily living ( Dalton et al, 2003 ; Choi et al, 2016 ), and poorer quality of life (QoL), especially pertaining to social and emotional relationships ( Ciorba et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjective benefits from wearing self-fitting over-the-counter hearing aids in the real world

Sheng,

Pasquesi,

Gilligan

et al. 2024

Front. Neurosci.

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IntroductionIn 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration enacted final regulations to establish the category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids aimed at reducing barriers to access hearing health care for individuals with self-perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. However, given the infancy of this device category, the effectiveness of OTC hearing aids in real-world environments is not yet well understood.Methods and resultsTo gain insights into the perceived benefit of self-fitting OTC hearing aids, a two-pronged investigation was conducted. In the primary investigation, 255 active users of a self-fitting OTC hearing aid were surveyed on their perceived benefit using an abridged form of the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Living (SADL) scale. The mean global (4.9) and subscale scores (Positive Effect (PE): 4.3; Negative Features (NF): 4.3; Personal Image (PI): 6.1) were within the range of those previously reported for users of prescription hearing aids. In the secondary investigation, 29 individuals with self-reported hearing impairment but no prior experience with the investigational self-fitting OTC hearing aids used the devices and reported their perceived benefit and satisfaction following short-term usage. For this prospective group, the global SADL (5.4) and subscale scores (PE: 4.8; NF: 4.9; PI: 6.5) following a minimum of 10 weeks of real-world use were also within the range of those previously reported for traditional hearing aid users. In addition, this prospective group was also asked quality of life questions which assessed psychological benefits of hearing aid use. Responses to these items suggest hearing aid related improvements in several areas spanning emotional health, relationships at home and at work, social life, participation in group activities, confidence and feelings about one’s self, ability to communicate effectively, and romance.DiscussionConverging data from these investigations suggest that self-fitting OTC hearing aids can potentially provide their intended users with a level of subjective benefit comparable to what prescription hearing aid users might experience.

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