Summary: A new study tracking nearly half a million participants over 12 years has revealed a strong, independent link between loneliness and an increased risk of hearing loss. Even after adjusting for genetic risk, health conditions, and lifestyle factors, lonely individuals had a 24% higher chance of developing hearing loss, especially sensorineural types.
Researchers suggest that stress-related physiological changes may help explain the connection. Notably, this association was stronger in women and remained consistent across multiple analytical models.
Key Facts:
- Independent Risk Factor: Loneliness increases hearing loss risk by 24%, regardless of genetic predisposition.
- Sensorineural Emphasis: The effect is strongest for sensorineural hearing loss, linked to inner ear or nerve damage.
- Sex Differences: The association was notably stronger in women than men.
Source: Health Data Science
A large-scale cohort study led by researchers from Tianjin University, Shenyang Medical College, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong has uncovered strong evidence that loneliness may independently increase the risk of hearing loss.
The findings were published in Health Data Science on May 2, 2025.
Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent global health conditions, affecting more than 1.5 billion people. While physiological and behavioral risk factors are well-documented, the role of psychosocial factors such as loneliness has been underexplored.
This study sought to determine whether loneliness is not just a consequence but also a contributing factor to hearing loss.
Using data from 490,865 participants in the UK Biobank, the researchers tracked individuals over a median period of 12.3 years. Loneliness was measured at baseline through a single-item self-report, and incident hearing loss was identified via electronic health records.
Results showed that lonely individuals had a 24% higher risk of developing hearing loss compared to their non-lonely counterparts, even after adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, health behaviors, comorbidities, ototoxic drug use, social isolation, depression, and genetic predisposition.
“We found that loneliness is associated with an increased risk of developing hearing loss, independent of other well-known risk factors,” said Yunlong Song, from the Institute of Applied Psychology at Tianjin University.
“This suggests a potentially harmful feedback loop in which loneliness and hearing loss exacerbate one another.”
The association was especially pronounced for sensorineural hearing loss, a form linked to cochlear or neural damage, and was stronger in women than men. Interestingly, while genetic predisposition to hearing loss also increased overall risk, it did not modify the effect of loneliness, indicating loneliness acts through distinct pathways.
The authors propose multiple mechanisms to explain this relationship, including loneliness-related inflammation, elevated blood pressure, neuroendocrine stress responses, and associated chronic diseases and unhealthy behaviors.
The findings remained robust across sensitivity analyses, including models excluding early cases and incorporating self-reported hearing data.
“Our next step is to investigate the behavioral, psychological, and physiological mechanisms that might explain how loneliness contributes to hearing loss,” said co-author Bin Yu.
“Ultimately, we aim to conduct intervention studies to test whether alleviating loneliness can lower the risk of hearing loss.”
About this loneliness and hearing loss research news
Author: Yu Yang
Source: Health Data Science
Contact: Yu Yang – Health Data Science
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study” by Yunlong Song et al. Health Data Science
Abstract
Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study
Background: Hearing loss (HL) is one major cause of disability and can lead to social impairments. However, the relationship between loneliness and the risk of incident HL remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate this association among adults in the UK.
Methods: This cohort study was based on data from the UK Biobank study. Loneliness was assessed by asking participants if they often felt lonely. Incident HL was defined as a primary diagnosis, ascertained via linkage to electronic health records. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the association between loneliness and risk of incident HL.
Results: Our analyses included 490,865 participants [mean (SD) age, 56.5 (8.1) years; 54.4% female], among whom 90,893 (18.5%) reported feeling lonely at baseline. Over a median follow-up period of 12.3 years (interquartile range, 11.3 to 13.1), 11,596 participants were diagnosed with incident HL.
Compared to non-lonely participants, lonely individuals exhibited an increased risk of HL [hazard ratio (HR), 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.30 to 1.43]. This association remained (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.17 to 1.31) after adjusting for potential confounders, including age, sex, socioeconomic status, biological and lifestyle factors, social isolation, depression, chronic diseases, use of ototoxic drugs, and genetic risk of HL.
The joint analysis showed that loneliness was significantly associated with an increased risk of incident HL across all levels of genetic risks for HL.
Conclusions: Loneliness was associated with the risk of incident HL independent of other prominent risk factors. Social enhancement strategies aimed at alleviating loneliness may prove beneficial in HL prevention.
