Hearing Loss Hinders Confidence, Personality of Elderly

As individuals approach old age, they may be become less outgoing due to the loss or limitations of certain abilities. A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Gothenburg focuses on hearing loss in particular, and how impaired hearing can greatly hinder the abilities and confidence of older individuals. Researchers also point out the importance of addressing and treating the health issue early on.

For the study, researchers examined 400 individuals between the ages of 80 and 98 years old over a six-year-period. Every two years, the subjects were assessed based on terms of physical and mental progress, as well as certain personality characteristics, including extraversion, outgoing instances and emotional stability. Findings showed that even for those with emotional stability that remained constant over periods of time, most participants often became less outgoing with old age.

However, researchers could not pinpoint a specific reason based on physical or cognitive impairments to result in reduced extraversion, for the exception of hearing impairment.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time a link between hearing and personality changes has been established in longitudinal studies. Surprisingly, we did not find that declining overall health and functional capacity make people less outgoing. But hearing loss directly affects the quality of social situations. If the perceived quality of social interaction goes down, it may eventually affect whether and how we relate to others," said Anne Ingeborg Berg, PhD, licensed psychologist and researcher at the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, via a press release.

The study holds interesting implications regarding personality development late in in life with an emphasis of treatment for hearing impairment to help potentially address such issues.

More information regarding the findings can be seen here.

Statistics show that at age 65 and up, one out of three people has some type of hearing loss, and in the United States alone, 20 percent of the adult population or 48 million, have some degree of hearing impairment.

Elderly adults are also not the only ones affected. It's estimated that 30 children per 1,000 have already dealt with symptoms of the health issue.