As people approach old age, they generally become less outgoing. New research from the University of Gothenburg shows that this change in personality is amplified among people with impaired hearing. The findings emphasize the importance of acknowledging and treating hearing loss in the elderly population.
The researchers studied 400 individuals 80-98 years old over a
six-year period. Every two years, the subjects were assessed in terms of
physical and mental measures as well as personality aspects such as extraversion,
which reflects the inclination to be outgoing, and emotional stability. The
results show that even if the emotional stability remained constant over the
period, the participants became less outgoing.
Interestingly, the researchers were not able to connect the
observed changes to physical and cognitive impairments or to age-related
difficulties finding social activities. The only factor that could be linked to
reduced extraversion was hearing loss.
'To our knowledge, this is the first time a link between hearing
and personality changes has been established in longitudinal studies.
Surprisingly, we did not find that declining overall health and functional
capacity make people less outgoing. But hearing loss directly affects the
quality of social situations. If the perceived quality of social interaction
goes down, it may eventually affect whether and how we relate to others,' says
Anne Ingeborg Berg, PhD, licensed psychologist and researcher at the Department
of Psychology, University of Gothenburg.
The study yields interesting knowledge about personality
development late in life, and also points to the importance of acknowledging
and treating hearing loss among the elderly.
The utilization of hearing aids did not affect the correlation
found, which suggests that there is a need for support in the use of aids such
as hearing devices.
'Our previous studies have shown that outgoing individuals are
happier with their lives. It is hypothesised that an outgoing personality
reflects a positive approach to life, but it also probably shows how important
it is for most people to share both joy and sadness with others. Even if we
can't conclude anything about causal relationships, we can guess that the link
between hearing loss and social withdrawal forms a potential threat to older
people's wellbeing,' says Berg.
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