That got your attention.

The psychological impact of hearing loss is well documented. Depression being the number one symptom. Frankly, that’s not particularly surprising since losing your hearing is obviously depressing since it disconnects you from the world. But it’s also associated with a range of other mental issues including, yes, your sex life.

One of the most comprehensive studies on the subject was conducted by the U.S. National Council On Aging. It surveyed 2,304 hearing impaired people including those who used hearing aids and those who didn’t. As well, 2,090 of their family members and friends were also questioned.

Those who did not use hearing aids were much more likely to report:

- sadness and depression
- worry and anxiety
- sadness and depression
- paranoia
- less social activity
- emotional turmoil and insecurity

On the other hand, those who dealt with their hearing loss by using hearing aids reported benefits that included:

- relationships with their families 
- better feelings about themselves 
- improved mental health 
- greater independence and security

Most of the respondents and their families reported significant improvements in their quality of life after getting hearing aids as this chart below outlines.

Improvement Area	Improvement Reported by Hearing Aid User (%)	Improvement Reported by User’s Family (%)
Relations at home	56	66
Feelings about self	50	60
Life overall	48	6
Mental health	36	39
Self-confidence	39	46
Sense of safety	34	37
Social life	34	41
Relations at work	26	43
Sex life	8	NA

On that last item, note that family and friends either didn’t notice an improvement or simply didn’t want to go there.

The full study can be found here:

NCOA Study on untreated hearing loss