PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HEARING-AID USE IN OLDER ADULTS

Hearing impairment in older adults is a chronic condition with high pr evalence that shows negative correlations with communication, social i ntegration, well-being, and cognition. In the present study, a group o f elderly individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss who received a hearing aid for the first time in their lives (aural rehabilitation group, n = 70) and two age-matched control groups (hearing-impaired co ntrol group without hearing aids, n = 42, approximately normal hearing control group, n = 28) were tested longitudinally over a 6-month peri od. Measures examined their performance in the domains of communicatio n problems, social activities, satisfaction with social relationships, well-being, and cognition. Data analyses show that in older persons w ith mild to moderate hearing loss, hearing aid use was positive effect s on self-perceived hearing handicap, hat there is no effect of hearin g aid use in domains like social activities, satisfaction with social relations, well-being, and cognitive functioning.