The influence of hearing loss and hearing aid use on experienced emotion in everyday listening situations.
Jack A Holman, Graham Naylor
PMID 40070164WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with hearing loss wearing hearing aids did not differ from adults with normal hearing in momentary emotional pleasantness, but they reported more pleasant emotions on aided days than unaided days.
Key findings
01On days when participants with hearing loss wore hearing aids, their momentary pleasantness and emotional intensity did not differ from that of adults with normal hearing.
02Within the hearing loss group, hearing aid use was associated with higher momentary pleasantness and emotional intensity.
03Positive discrete emotions were reported more often on aided days than unaided days, especially in one-to-one and group conversations.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was an exploratory study and was not powered to detect definitive differences, including age-related differences. The groups differed at baseline: the hearing loss group was older by a mean difference of 8 years, and the normal hearing group had fewer men after dropouts. All participants with hearing loss had used hearing aids for at least 5 years, so findings may not apply to people who do not use hearing aids or who are dissatisfied with them. Data were collected remotely in 2021, and current audiograms were not obtained; historical audiograms ranged from 1 to 6 years before the study. Blinding was impossible because participants knew whether they were wearing hearing aids. Many potentially relevant factors, such as severity and laterality of hearing loss and aiding, duration of hearing aid use, working status and others, were not investigated.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding was from the Hearing Industry Research Consortium and the Medical Research Council.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that hearing aids cause better emotional experiences or that aided adults with hearing loss are emotionally the same as adults with normal hearing. This was an exploratory study, and the unaided group difference in pleasantness became no longer significant after hearing handicap was included. Participants were also experienced hearing aid users.