Anxiety in elderly hearing impaired persons.

The association between experiences of hearing impairment and signs of anxiety in 42 elderly hearing impaired patients at a hearing aid centre was investigated. Subjects completed the Hearing Coping Assessment, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and an audiometric test of hearing. Analysis showed low scores on anxiety and hearing problems compared with other studies. Moreover, scores on anxiety did not correlate with pure tone thresholds for hearing but with self-reported hearing problems (r = .31). Anxiety is important, but it is possible that signs of depression are more strongly related to self-perceived hearing handicap.