Triple Difficulties in Japanese Women with Hearing Loss: Marriage, Smoking, and Mental Health Issues

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine the consequences of early-onset hearing loss on several social and health measures and any related gender differences in Japanese populations.MethodsData from a 2007 nationally representative cross-sectional household survey of 136,849 men and women aged 20 to 39 years were obtained (prevalence of self-reported hearing loss: 0.74%). We focused particularly on four social and health measures: employment status (employed/unemployed), marital status (married/unmarried), smoking behavior (yes/no), and psychological distress (K6 instrument: ≥ 5 or not). We examined the association of hearing loss for each measure using generalized estimating equations to account for correlated individuals within households.FindingsThere was no significant association with employment status (p = 0.447). Men with hearing loss were more likely to be married, whereas women with hearing loss were less likely to be married (p < 0.001 for interaction). Although hearing loss was not associated with a current smoking status in men, women with hearing loss were more likely to be current smokers (p < 0.001 for interaction). Moreover, hearing loss was associated with psychological distress in men and women (both p < 0.001).ConclusionThese findings suggest that hearing loss is related to social and health issues in daily life, including a lower likelihood of marriage, more frequent smoking, and poorer mental health, especially in women. These issues may reflect a gap between the actual needs of women with hearing loss and the formal support received as a result of existing public health policies in Japan.

Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults With Auditory, Vision, and Dual Sensory Impairment

“…The prevalence of hearing loss doubles with every decade of life and, by the age of 70, two thirds of older adults are hearing impaired (Lin, Niparko, & Ferrucci, 2011). Hearing impairment has been associated with increased loneliness (Sung, Li, Blake, Betz, & Lin, 2016), depression (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2012; Huang, Dong, Lu, Yue, & Liu, 2010; C.-M. Li et al, 2014; Monzani, Galeazzi, Genovese, Marrara, & Martini, 2008; Shin & Hwang, 2017), anxiety (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2012; Monzani et al, 2008), mental distress (Kobayashi, Tamiya, Moriyama, & Nishi, 2015; Sano, Okamoto, Ohhashi, Iwasaki, & Ogawa, 2013), increased suicide risk (Kim, Kwak, & Kim, 2015; Shin & Hwang, 2017), reduced quality of life (Dalton et al, 2003; Sano et al, 2013), physical disability (Chen, Genther, Betz, & Lin, 2014), incident dementia (Golub et al, 2017; Lin et al, 2011), increased mortality (Genther et al, 2015), and less engagement in relationships and social activities (Sano et al, 2013).…”

Prevalence and determinants of hearing disability among older persons in Malaysia: Finding of National Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2018

“…A study carried out in Japan showed that women with hearing impairment were less likely to marry compared with a man. 27 Other than that, hearing disability can be one of the reasons why people are not selected as marriage partners.…”

Mental Health of the People with Hearing Impairment in Korea: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

“…These results are consistent with previous studies. For instance, a study conducted by Kobayashi et al18) found a high association between Japanese individuals with hearing impairment and psychological distress in mental health (OR, 4.889; 95% CI, 4.267 to 5.601). Moreover, a separate study conducted by Armstrong et al19) reported that individuals with hearing impairment displayed higher rates of depression (hearing impairment vs. non-hearing impairment: 19.3% vs. 14.6% in the CESD-5 [Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression 5] scale, 14.9% vs. 9.1% in the PHQ-9 [Patient Health Questionnaire-9] scale).…”

“…Therefore, proper diagnosis and management is difficult to provide. Finally, health professionals experience difficulties in communication with individuals that exhibit hearing impairment, so health professionals could overlook or misdiagnose a condition 1823)…”