Amid the growing recognition of the high incidence of depression and the many effective treatment options available to treat this disorder, there is news that a hearing aid may be an effective treatment option.
Approximately 5% to 8% of the adult population experiences depression in a given year. It is also interesting to note that a large-scale study undertaken by the National Council on Aging shows that people over age 50 with untreated hearing loss are more likely to report depression, anxiety, anger, frustration, emotional instability, and paranoia, and were less likely to participate in organized social activities than those who wore hearing aids. These symptoms were also found to be more pronounced as severity of hearing loss increased.
Hearing loss is an invisible disability, and with that comes a lot of misunderstanding.
People often wrongly assume that the individual with the hearing loss is ignoring them or uninterested in the conversation. This often leads to withdrawal from social situations. Helen Keller once wrote, “Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people”.