Silent threat: How hearing loss and lonely feeling increases

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2.5 billion people will witness hearing loss or weakness by 2050. More than 25 % of people over 60 years of age suffer from hearing impairment. In addition to the social challenges it creates, this loss – or the reduction – is associated with a significant risk of cognitive decline in subsequent life. This risk may be two to three times higher for those affected.

A joint team from the Development Psychology Laboratory for Age and Age of Cognitive Aging at Geneva University (Unige) has set out to investigate whether a mixture of hearing difficulties and feelings of unity – whether it is measured objectively or objectively visualized – could be associated with an accelerated memory of age. “This is a relatively new approach,” explains Charikleia Lampraki, post PhD researcher at Lifespan Laboratory at the College of Psychology and Educational Sciences at UNIGE and the first author of the study. “While some studies have suggested that this may be a promising means, but a very few search teams have already explored it.”

33,000 people studied

To conduct their analyzes, the researchers based on data from the study on a large scale (health, aging and retirement survey in Europe)-a longitudinal survey was launched in 2002 looking at the health and aging of Europeans between 50 years and over.

“We have used data from twelve countries, including Switzerland, which represents a sample of 33,000 people,” explains Andreas Ehli, an assistant professor at the LifeSpan Laboratory and the director of the study. Participants are cleared every two years on different aspects of their daily lives – such as activities, social relationships and perceptions – and they are subject to tests on cognitive functions such as accidental memory, using uniform exercises.

The UNIGE research team has selected three distinct profiles related to the case:

1. Socially isolated individuals and feel lonely
2. Individuals who are not socially isolated but still feel lonely
3. Socially isolated individuals, but they do not feel lonely

Isolation and deafness: “explosive” cocktail

Then scientists examine whether these different personal files have different paths of cognitive decline, depending on the type of isolation and the degree of hearing loss. “We have found that people who were not socially isolated but felt unit saw their cognitive decline when they were deaf,” says Matthias Klegel, a full professor at the Knowledge Aging Laboratory at the College of Psychology and Educational Sciences.

These results support the importance of addressing both hearing loss and social and emotional dimensions of individuals in efforts to prevent cognitive decline. This is especially important for people who are not socially isolated but still feel lonely – in such cases, it may be simple hearing interventions, such as using hearing aid, sufficient to help them engage more in social life. “These individuals are already socially integrated, so they are the issue of removing a sensory barrier in order to enhance their participation and protect their cognitive health,” Charikleia LamPraki concludes.