Emotional Responses to Pleasant Sounds Are Related to Social Disconnectedness and Loneliness Independent of Hearing Loss.

The study was cross-sectional and laboratory based, so it cannot show that pleasant sound responses cause isolation or that hearing loss causes isolation. Only people willing to attend a laboratory and not at elevated depression risk were included, so results may not apply to the most isolated or depressed adults. The sample was small, with 83 recruited and 81 analysed, and the overall model for disconnectedness was not significant. Participants were tested with different transducers and levels because of two larger study protocols, though these did not explain valence ratings. The first six items of the Perceived Isolation scale had poor internal consistency for young normal-hearing participants and were dropped. Hearing aid use and socioeconomic status were not included in the original models, although exploratory analyses found that including them did not change the results.

The supplied text lists funders: Sonova AG, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and Dan and Margaret Maddox Charitable Trust. It does not state author conflicts.

Do not conclude that hearing loss causes loneliness or that hearing aid fitting will reduce isolation. Hearing loss was not a significant predictor of disconnectedness or loneliness, and the study cannot show cause.