Self-reported hearing loss and health during a pandemic: Findings from a cross-sectional analysis using a 2021 household survey

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic differentially impacted individuals with hearing loss, likely in part due to increased communication difficulties from masking, a commonly implemented protective measure. Objective: This study examines the association between self-reported hearing loss and health during the pandemic. Methods: This study uses data from the COVID-19 Survey collected by the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin from February to March 2021. Hearing loss was defined as self-reported fair or poor hearing. The outcomes were self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, separately, and self-reported general health. Multivariable models adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity were used to examine the associations between hearing loss with each outcome. Results are presented as prevalence ratios (PR) with corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Results: There were 1857 participants (60.3 % female, 12.9 % non-white) with a mean age of 57.1 years in this cross-sectional study. In multivariable models, individuals with hearing loss (versus none) had higher prevalence of depression (PR: 1.22, 95 % CI: 1.06, 1.39), anxiety (PR: 1.13, 95 % CI: 1.02, 1.27), and self-reported fair or poor health (PR: 2.61, 95 % CI: 1.89, 3.61). Conclusion: Hearing loss was associated with poorer self-reported health during winter 2021 of the COVID-19 pandemic, when mask use in public was newly mandated and vaccines were not widely available to the general public. Further research on the impact of public health policies on vulnerable populations, including those with hearing loss, is warranted. Such research could inform policy decisions that accommodate these populations.