Association of Hearing Impairment and Emotional Vitality in Older Adults

Kevin J Contrera; Josh Betz; Jennifer A Deal; Janet S Choi; Hilsa N Ayonayon; Tamara Harris; Elizabeth Helzner; Kathryn R Martin; Kala Mehta; Sheila Pratt; Susan M Rubin; Suzanne Satterfield; Kristine Yaffe; Melissa Garcia; Eleanor M Simonsick; Frank R Lin; Health ABC Study

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbw005

Association of Hearing Impairment and Emotional Vitality in Older Adults

J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016 May;71(3):400-4. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbw005. Epub 2016 Feb 16.

Authors

Kevin J Contrera¹, Josh Betz², Jennifer A Deal³, Janet S Choi¹, Hilsa N Ayonayon⁴, Tamara Harris⁵, Elizabeth Helzner⁶, Kathryn R Martin⁷, Kala Mehta⁸, Sheila Pratt⁹, Susan M Rubin⁴, Suzanne Satterfield¹⁰, Kristine Yaffe¹¹, Melissa Garcia¹², Eleanor M Simonsick¹², Frank R Lin¹³; Health ABC Study

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
² Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco.
⁵ Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn.
⁷ Institute of Applied Health Sciences School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
⁸ Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine University of California, San Francisco.
⁹ School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pennsylvania.
¹⁰ Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis.
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry and Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco.
¹² Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland.
¹³ Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. flin1@jhmi.edu.

Abstract

Objectives: To better understand the potential impact of hearing impairment (HI) and hearing aid use on emotional vitality and mental health in older adults.

Method: We investigated the cross-sectional association of HI with emotional vitality in 1,903 adults aged 76-85 years in the Health ABC study adjusted for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors. Hearing was defined by the speech frequency pure tone average (no impairment < 25 dB, mild impairment 25-40 dB, and moderate or greater impairment > 40 dB). Emotional vitality was defined as having a high sense of personal mastery, happiness, low depressive symptomatology, and low anxiety.

Results: Compared with individuals with no HI, participants with moderate or greater HI had a 23% lower odds of emotional vitality (odds ratio [OR] = 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59-0.99). Hearing aid use was not associated with better emotional vitality (OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.81-1.20).

Discussion: HI is associated with lower odds of emotional vitality in older adults. Further studies are needed to examine the longitudinal impact of HI on mental health and well-being.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Emotional vitality; Hearing; Mental health; Sensory impairment.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Aged
Anxiety / diagnosis
Anxiety / psychology
Arousal*
Depression / diagnosis
Depression / psychology
Emotions*
Female
Happiness*
Hearing Aids / psychology*
Humans
Internal-External Control
Male
Mental Health*
Presbycusis / psychology*
Presbycusis / rehabilitation*
Quality of Life / psychology
Risk Factors

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding