Depression and Individuals with Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Hearing loss is a silent disability that reduces the hearing acuity of an individual and makes it difficult to perceive or interpret auditory signals. Persons with hearing loss are a heterogeneous group comprising of diverse and complex psychosocial characteristics of individuals who does not readily enjoy the empathy/sympathy received by other forms of disabilities that is readily visible. Hearing loss usually predisposes sufferers to resentment, hostility, rejection and subtle denial resulting to a cascading effect on socio-emotional development and could ultimately lead to depression.Objective: This study assessed the extent and trend of studies on depression among individuals with hearing loss which are domiciled online data bases and to establish the strengths and limitation of such studies in Nigeria. Methods:To conduct this systematic review, a thorough search across multiple databases was undertaken, based upon five search facets ("depression", "depressive symptoms", "hearing loss", "deaf" and "hard of hearing"). Five electronic databases, key texts and references in the articles identified were scrutinized for article that have in their title "depression" and "hearing loss". Results:Data gathered revealed that hearing loss is significantly associated with depression while the onset and degrees of hearing loss poses to be a major correlate of depressive symptoms among the elderly. The study revealed that there is a dearth of studies which distinguished between communication options, parental involvement, socioeconomic status or birth order of the Deaf respondents/participants in relation to depression in their studies. Conclusion:There is a great tendency for depression among the Deaf and/or hard of hearing which may as well instigate suicidal thoughts. This study observed a dearth of studies on depression and its associated symptoms among the Deaf and/or hard of hearing in Nigeria and the Sub-Sahara Africa. Therefore, psychologist and other mental health workers should not take for granted any depressive symptoms among persons with hearing loss.

Association of hearing loss with depression, anxiety and stress in patients suffering from Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media

“…Spearman’s correlation proved the positive correlation among different variables taken under consideration including hearing loss type (hlt), age and hearing loss severity (hls) with depression, anxiety and stress. In addition to this, female seemed to developed symptoms of depression and anxiety more than male as shown in figure-2 and 3 as reported in literature 17…”

The relationship between mental health conditions and hearing loss in low‐ and middle‐income countries

“…Early‐onset hearing loss in children can cause delay in speech development and language skills [4‐7]. Language skills are important for communication, and so difficulties in this area can have a cascading effect on emotional and social development, family interconnectedness, social inclusion and over all perceived quality of life [8‐10]. Consequently, children with early‐onset hearing loss are more likely to experience social isolation, low self‐esteem and depression [11‐14].…”

“…oppositional defiant disorder), and less consistently, anxiety and psychological distress [34‐39]. There is a lack of data from LMICs, even though these risks may be magnified due to a lack of hearing services or trained staff, little awareness about how to manage hearing loss [1], and higher levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment among people with hearing loss [9]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the peer‐reviewed literature from LMICs and summarise the evidence from studies that examined the link between hearing loss and mental health conditions.…”

Comparative Study of Prevalence and Correlates of Mental Health Problems in Deaf and Hearing Adolescents in a Semi-Inclusive Setting in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria

“…Studies among children and adolescents with deafness have reported higher rates of mental health problems than their hearing counterparts [7]. For example, an Australian study assessed 99 children with bilateral deafness of at least 40 dB where parents and teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) [9]. Results indicated that children with deafness scored significantly higher on the SDQ than their counterparts from normative samples according to both parents' and teachers' ratings [9].…”

“…For example, an Australian study assessed 99 children with bilateral deafness of at least 40 dB where parents and teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) [9]. Results indicated that children with deafness scored significantly higher on the SDQ than their counterparts from normative samples according to both parents' and teachers' ratings [9]. In another study of adolescents with deafness, 46% reported different types of mental health problems [10].…”