Response to Letter to the Editor from Peck

A Thought on “Self-Reported Hearing Difficulties”

We would like to thank Dr. Peck for his comments regarding our recent publication “Mild-Gain Hearing Aids as a Treatment for Adults with Self-Reported Hearing Difficulties” ([Roup et al, 2018]). Dr. Peck’s observations regarding a potential psychological etiology for hearing difficulties among young adults represent an important avenue for consideration. Although psychological distress was not a factor considered in our study, it does represent a needed area of investigation among this population. Indeed, past research has reported associations between hearing difficulties in normal-hearing adults and symptoms of depression ([Higson et al, 1994]; [Saito et al, 2010]; [Tremblay et al, 2015]), high levels of anxiety ([Saunders and Haggard, 1989]), and emotional distress ([Gopinath et al, 2012]). We concur with Dr. Peck’s assertion that patients who present clinically with normal hearing and complaints of hearing difficulty should receive a thorough evaluation including a careful case history. As with any patient, it is incumbent on the audiologist to consider all factors associated with adults who present with hearing difficulties and to refer to the appropriate professional for further evaluation when necessary.

• REFERENCES

• Gopinath B, Hickson L, Schneider J, McMahon CM, Burlutsky G, Leeder SR, Mitchell P. 2012; Hearing-impaired adults are at increased risk of experiencing emotional distress and social engagement restrictions five years later. Age Ageing 41 (05) 618-623
• Higson JM, Haggard MP, Field DL. 1994; Validation of parameters for assessing obscure auditory dysfunction – robustness of determinants of OAD status across samples and test methods. Br J Audiol 28: 27-39
• Roup CM, Post E, Lewis J. 2018; Mild-gain hearing aids as a treatment for adults with self-reported hearing difficulties. J Am Acad Audiol 29: 477-494
• Saito H, Nishiwaki Y, Michikawa T, Kikuchi Y, Mizutari K, Takebayashi T, Ogawa K. 2010; Hearing handicap predicts the development of depressive symptoms after 3 years in older community-dwelling Japanese. J Am Geriatr Soc 58 (01) 93-97
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• Tremblay K, Pinto A, Fischer ME, Klein BEK, Klein R, Levy S, Tweed TS, Cruickshanks KJ. 2015; Self-reported hearing difficulties among adults with normal audiograms: The Beaver Dam Offspring Study. Ear Hear 36 (06) e290-e299