Lend me your ear: Hearing-loss impact on mental health

When asked about the impact of hearing loss on mental health and well-being, Brian McKinnon, M.D., quotes Hellen Keller, who was deaf and blind.

“She once said, ‘Blindness separates people from things; deafness separates people from people,’” said Dr. McKinnon, a physician at Meritus Advanced Ear, Nose, and Throat and chair of the surgical department at Meritus Health.

He listed off a number of conditions associated with hearing loss, especially among older adults. Limiting the ability to communicate is associated with loneliness and dependence on others. It’s also associated with the development of anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline.

“Culturally, how is deafness handled by society?” he asked. “It’s very distinct from blindness. Both create forms of social isolation, with blindness portrayed in the Western canon and culture as metaphorical isolation, deafness portrayed as disconnection and isolation from the community.”

That’s a particular problem as America’s population gets older.

A 2011 paper he helped author on age-related hearing loss cites a study from the Medical College of Georgia that found deafness is a chronic condition in 77 percent of those age 60 to 69. The paper also cited a similar study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that found an even higher prevalence in those 80 to 96.

The topic is a particular interest for him. Not only has he had parents and other family members who have had hearing loss, Dr. McKinnon himself has mild high frequency hearing loss from his time on active duty in the U.S. Navy.

“I was around things that went ‘boom,’” he said.

The cause of hearing loss can be age-related, but it can also come from noise exposure, like his. He suggests being prudent when it comes to being around loud noises.

“We have the noise when we’re mowing the lawn. What do we do? We put earphones in our ears or put on headphones,” he said. “But then, we turn up the volume so we can hear the music or podcast over the sound of the lawn mower.”

He also suggests getting a baseline hearing test in your 40s or 50s. As you age, he suggests getting the test every two to three years.

“Treat it like you would getting your blood checked or getting a physical,” he said.

Treating hearing loss can be handled with hearing aids or surgery in some cases. McKinnon is one of the only physicians between Hagerstown and Baltimore or Washington, D.C., who performs surgery to implant cochlear devices. Such devices are hearing aids implanted in the inner ear with part of the implant worn on the outside of the head.

There are studies that have found cochlear implants can have an impact on a person’s quality of life, as well as that of their families.

McKinnon looks to history to show the connection between hearing and that quality of life.

“In the cultural history of Western Canon, there are a number of great sages who are blind,” he said, citing the poet Homer who created “The Odyssey.”

“There were no deaf sages. The only major fictional character I can recall as being deaf is Quasimodo from Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, who is deaf from the ringing of the bells,” McKinnon said. “That’s because you couldn’t learn the language. You were isolated. It’s played a fascinating role in history.”

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