Poorer subjective hearing is associated with less frequent and more negative social interactions in older adults

Elliot M Friedman, Markus H Schafer, Melissa M Franks, Alexander L Francis and Jessica A Kelley

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2026, vol. 81, issue 3, gbaf261.

Abstract: ObjectivesHearing loss is one of the most common chronic conditions among U.S. adults, with increasing incidence and severity from middle age onward. Hearing loss is frequently linked to feelings of loneliness and social isolation, especially with advancing age, although the mechanisms underlying these links are not well defined. We examined the associations between subjective hearing and frequency and quality of routine social interactions in a national sample of adults.MethodsData were from the second waves of the Midlife in the United States study and the National Study of Daily Experiences. Participants (N = 1,870) rated their hearing compared to peers, reported frequency of contact with friends and family, and were interviewed daily for 8 consecutive days about positive and negative social interactions during each day.ResultsPoorer subjective hearing was associated with significantly less frequent social contact, a greater number of arguments and avoided arguments across the 8-day period, and fewer positive interactions. The only evidence of moderation was the association between hearing and the number of arguments; Black (compared to White) participants with poorer hearing had fewer arguments, but otherwise age, sex, and race and ethnicity did not moderate any of the associations between subjective hearing and frequency or quality of social interactions.DiscussionThese results support the possibility that impaired hearing may affect the quality of routine social interactions, potentially increasing the risk of social isolation and loneliness.

Keywords: Hearing loss; Population sample; Daily diary (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbaf261 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:geronb:v:81:y:2026:i:3:p:gbaf261.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

More articles in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B from The Gerontological Society of America Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().