Can Hearing Loss Make Anxiety & Depression Worse?

Today, anxiety and depression are extremely common among all ages. But what you may not know is the significant connection between hearing loss and mental health (specifically depression and anxiety).

With hearing loss, there is an increased effort to try to hear and understand speech. This can make social situations extremely tiring and cause a person to withdraw over time. Individuals with hearing loss can quickly become socially isolated due to communication challenges, and as this occurs, it’s common to feel loneliness, frustration, and a desire to further isolate. And as it becomes more difficult to comprehend sounds and speech, anxiety levels can rise, especially in workplace settings where hearing may be critical.

Below we explore the connection between depression, anxiety, and hearing loss, and offer some tips for what to do about both at the end.

Depression May Worsen with Hearing Loss

Depression has a profound effect on a person’s quality of life, and is characterized by sadness, a loss of interest or pleasure in things a person used to enjoy, low self-worth, poor sleep and appetite, tiredness, and poor concentration. For people with hearing loss, depression is a concern, especially if a person already struggled with depression prior to losing their hearing.

Researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) established a connection to depression and hearing loss about 10 years ago. They found that in the US, 11.4% of adults with hearing loss have moderate to severe depression, compared to 5.9% of adults without hearing loss.

In 2020, a research article, Association of Hearing Loss With Psychological Distress and Utilization of Mental Health Services Among Adults in the United States, highlighted that in addition to being more prone to depression, people with moderate hearing loss are also more likely to use mental health services, and to take antidepressants and antianxiety medications

In 2021, another study found that older adults with hearing loss were 47% more likely to experience depression symptoms, and that for those with existing mental health issues, hearing loss could worsen the problem.

Anxiety is Common Among People with Hearing Loss

Anxiety can be caused by a lot of things including social interactions and communication, both of which are difficult for people with hearing loss.

Similar to depression, hearing loss has been found to increase the risk of anxiety. The more severe the untreated hearing loss, the higher the risk of anxiety as well. But what is also interesting, is that anxiety can impact your hearing as well. A review of various studies found that the prevalence of anxiety was higher among people with hearing loss than the general population, and the more sever the auditory loss, the more severe the anxiety.

For example, the physical symptoms of anxiety (flight-or-fight response) can actually cause tinnitus. In fact, in a poll by AnxietyCentre.com, about 76% of the respondents said they experienced tinnitus as a symptom of their anxiety.

Another example is that anxiety can make it harder to focus on specific sounds. Anxiety can activate a person’s nervous system and push it to focus on threatening stimuli. This can make it hard to concentrate on conversations while other sounds may be more pronounced (creaks, bumps, crashes) as your brain perceives them as of higher risk at the time.

Tips for Managing Mental Health & Hearing Loss

Your mental health and hearing health are intimately connected. Making sure you are addressing both is critical to quality of life and your overall physical and mental health and well-being. Below are three tips to help manage your mental health and hearing loss.

1. Get you hearing tested annually to ensure you are on top of any hearing loss that may impact your ability to feel comfortable and confident in group or social settings.
2. Give your mental health the same care and routine attention as you do your body. From being present and aware of your thoughts, feelings and physical responses to mental stimuli, to seeing a mental health professional as routinely as you need. Make sure to incorporate your mental health care as part of your wellness routine.
3. Address hearing loss early on. The sooner you can address hearing loss, the better you may be able to manage coinciding anxiety and depression. In fact using hearing aids has been associated with reduced prevalence of depression, with some studies seeing reduced depressive symptoms within three months of use.[1]

Your physical and mental health go hand-in-hand, and when you have hearing loss, making sure to prioritize your mental health is key.

[1]  Gopinath B, Wang JJ, Schneider J, Burlutsky G, Snowdon J, McMahon CM, Mitchell P. (2009) Depressive symptoms in older adults with hearing impairments: the Blue Mountains Study. J Amer Ger Soc 57(7):1306–1308.

Mener DJ, Betz J, Genther DJ, Chen D, Lin FR. (2013) Hearing loss and depression in older adults. J Amer Ger Soc 61(9):1627.