Easily bored? Hearing aids may keep you engaged
Did you know, a good predictor of who gets hearing aids is how bothersome the hearing loss is, but what’s fascinating is people with a mild hearing loss often aren’t equally bothered by it. Rather, being ‘bothered’ is directly influenced by how easily someone gets bored.
Posted Tuesday February 13, 2024
A recent study of 2000 participants, all first-time visitors of audiology clinics, aged 50+, with mild hearing loss, examined the level of their hearing as well as their tendency to experience boredom. The study showed that the subjective impact of hearing loss can be predicted by how easily someone gets bored, and as boredom is also tied to attention when we talk about being engaged in any activity, that concerns attention.
People’s boredom thresholds naturally vary, so if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t easily get bored, maybe a certain level of hearing loss is tolerable. But if you have a low boredom threshold and suddenly your sensory input is limited by hearing loss, you’re going to be bothered to a greater extent.
Boredom levels and difficulties in maintaining attention are personal factors that can determine the extent that hearing loss becomes bothersome and potentially prompt a person’s decision about whether hearing aids may be helpful.
You can read more about this study, “Subjective Impact of Age-Related Hearing Loss Is Worse for Those Who Routinely Experience Boredom and Failures of Attention” at this link.
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