Hearing and quality of life in older adults.

Objectives: We assessed quality of life (QoL) in older adults with and without hearing loss (HL) and studied how hearing aids were associated with QoL. We hypothesized participants with normal hearing would have significantly better QoL than participants with HL and hearing aids, and participants with HL but no aids would have the worst QoL.

Method: At the University of Alabama and rural public health departments in surrounding counties, we tested 100 males and females aged 60-87 using pure-tone audiometry. They completed Short Form-36 and Medical Outcome Study assessments. We analyzed data with MANCOVA (covariate income).

Results: Participants without hearing aids had significantly poorer QoL than participants with normal hearing, who did not significantly differ from participants with aids. General health drove the difference.

Conclusions: Hearing aids are associated with better QoL than having HL and going without aids. Clinical psychologists can improve coping among those with HL and motivate hearing aid use.