Hearing loss impacts a significant number of people over the age of 50 in Ireland, however the use of hearing aids remains low, recent research has found.

According to the findings, this can result in poorer mental health and overall wellbeing.

Researchers at The Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) assessed the impact of hearing loss and hearing aid use on the psycho-social health and wellbeing of older adults in Ireland. They looked at the period 2012 – 2018.

They found that between these two periods, the percentage of men with self-reported hearing loss increased from 40% to 46%, while the percentage of women increased from 32% to 39%. Among those over the age of 75, 58% of men and 54% of women reported some degree of hearing loss.

However, despite this high prevalence of self-reported hearing loss, just 11% of the general population in Ireland uses hearing aids. The researchers found that the use of hearing aids was most common among people with medical cards, however they said this was not surprising given than many medical card holders can access hearing aids for free.

When it came to social participation and integration, both of these were found to be lower among women who reported poor hearing without hearing aids. No difference in social engagement in either men or women was found among those who wear hearing aids. This suggests that hearing aid use can help maintain social participation and engagement if hearing declines as people age.

The researchers also found that poor self-rated hearing without hearing aids was linked with worse mental health, more depressive symptoms, more loneliness and a lower quality of life.

However again, hearing aid use appeared to alleviate these differences as those who wore hearing aids had similar mental health score to those with excellent hearing.

“The largely modifiable nature of this disability means that improvement in audiology screening at an earlier stage and promotion of uptake of hearing aids may significantly contribute to the reduction of disability and associated consequences in the older population, thereby improving the ageing experience for many,” commented Dr Christine McGarrigle, lead author of the research report and senior research fellow at TCD.

The findings were welcomed by Chime, the national charity for deafness and hearing loss. According to its advocacy, research and public affairs director, Brendan Lennon, hearing loss is often ignored by those affected and healthcare professionals, which can have “a significant impact on people’s lives in terms of relationships with family and friends and increased risk of isolation and loneliness”.

“This important new report from TILDA confirms that hearing loss can also lead to other health issues such as depression, cognitive decline and even dementia. Thankfully, hearing aids are an effective solution for most people and what we need to do as a society is to put the right supports and services in place to make it easier and more affordable for people to get timely treatment for their hearing loss,” Mr Lennon said.

The full report from TILDA can be viewed here.