Koch Jana, Brady Brooke, Zheng Lidan, Anstey Kaarin J
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales Sydney, High Street, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Australia.
Eur J Ageing. 2025 Jul 16;22(1):33. doi: 10.1007/s10433-025-00868-8.
Hearing loss, a common age-related health condition, has been linked to adverse health outcomes, including changes in social participation and cognitive function. As subjective views of aging are influenced by changes in health and functional abilities, we hypothesized that people with poor hearing would exhibit less favorable generalized and personal Views of Aging. Additionally, we explored whether these associations varied by age. Data were analyzed from 148 participants (aged 40-84) who completed an app-based research study: Labs without Walls. Participants completed a validated, app-based hearing task, and a pure-tone average was calculated in the better-hearing ear. Generalized Views of Aging were measured using the Expectations Regarding Aging Scale (with subscales on physical health, mental health, and cognitive function). Personal Views of Aging were measured using the Self-perceptions of Aging Scale. Structural equation modeling was conducted to explore the relative contributions of hearing function to Views of Aging constructs while controlling for chronological age, sex-at-birth, sociodemographic status, loneliness, and cognition. Cross sectionally, poorer hearing was associated with negative age expectations regarding maintaining physical health and with negative self-perceptions of aging. Contrary to our hypothesis, hearing function did not predict age expectations about mental health or cognitive function. No significant age moderation effects were observed. Overall, these findings offer preliminary evidence for distinct associations between hearing and individual Views of Aging constructs and domains. The novel insight into the association between objectively measured hearing and Views of Aging highlights the importance of addressing hearing health early in the aging process to prevent negative outcomes linked to Views of Aging.
听力损失是一种常见的与年龄相关的健康状况，它与不良健康后果有关，包括社会参与和认知功能的变化。由于对衰老的主观看法会受到健康和功能能力变化的影响，我们假设听力较差的人对衰老的总体看法和个人看法会更不理想。此外，我们还探讨了这些关联是否因年龄而异。对148名年龄在40至84岁之间、完成了一项基于应用程序的研究（“无墙实验室”）的参与者的数据进行了分析。参与者完成了一项经过验证的、基于应用程序的听力任务，并计算了听力较好耳朵的纯音平均值。使用衰老期望量表（包括身体健康、心理健康和认知功能子量表）来测量对衰老的总体看法。使用衰老自我认知量表来测量对衰老的个人看法。在控制了实际年龄、出生时性别、社会人口统计学状况、孤独感和认知的同时，进行了结构方程建模，以探讨听力功能对衰老看法结构的相对贡献。横断面分析显示，听力较差与对保持身体健康的负面年龄期望以及对衰老的负面自我认知有关。与我们的假设相反，听力功能并不能预测对心理健康或认知功能的年龄期望。未观察到显著的年龄调节效应。总体而言，这些发现为听力与衰老的个人看法结构和领域之间的独特关联提供了初步证据。对客观测量的听力与衰老看法之间关联的新见解凸显了在衰老过程早期关注听力健康以预防与衰老看法相关的负面结果的重要性。
