Hearing Loss: The Silent Risk for Psychiatric Disorders in Late Life

Dan G Blazer

doi:10.1016/j.cger.2019.11.002

Hearing Loss: The Silent Risk for Psychiatric Disorders in Late Life

Clin Geriatr Med. 2020 May;36(2):201-209. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2019.11.002.

Author

Dan G Blazer¹

Affiliation

¹ JP Gibbons Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3003, 3521 Hosp South, Durham, NC 27710, USA. Electronic address: dan.g.blazer@dm.duke.edu.

PMID: 32222296
DOI: 10.1016/j.cger.2019.11.002

Abstract

Hearing loss is among the most frequent problems experienced by older adults, yet psychiatrists and other clinicians often ignore the problem as an aggravation rather than recognizing that the problem might benefit from appropriate hearing health care. Many psychiatric disorders have been associated with hearing loss, including depression, schizophrenia and other psychoses, anxiety, and neurocognitive disorders. In this article, hearing loss among older adults is reviewed, with special attention directed toward the recognition and proper referral to a hearing health care provider. Finally, major advances in hearing health care are discussed.

Keywords: Depression; Hearing aids; Hearing loss; Neurocognitive disorders; Ototoxicity; Red flag conditions; Schizophrenia.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Diagnosis, Differential
Hearing Loss* / complications
Hearing Loss* / diagnosis
Hearing Loss* / psychology
Hearing Tests
Humans
Mental Disorders* / diagnosis
Mental Disorders* / physiopathology
Referral and Consultation*