The associations between hearing and vision loss and cognitive, physical and psychosocial health outcomes among older Canadian adults

Hearing and vision loss affect a large proportion of older Canadians and have been associated with cognitive declines, falls, driving accidents, depression, social isolation, loneliness and increased use of health resources. Treatments and rehabilitation are available but uptake is low, and incorporating sensory loss management into programs that promote healthy aging could significantly improve the health and wellbeing of older Canadians. We will use data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to measure hearing and vision loss prevalence, use of hearing and vision enhancement technologies, and associations between hearing and vision ability and important geriatric health outcomes to inform the public, clinicians and policymakers about the potential impact of sensory loss for healthy aging.

The first sub-study provided estimates of hearing loss, vision loss and dual sensory loss among Canadian adults aged 45-85 years of age in 2016. Behavioural tests were used to measure sensory function (hearing: pure-tone audiometry; vision: visual acuity).  In 2016, 1.5 million males had at least mild hearing loss, 1.8 million had at least mild vision loss, and 570,000 had dual sensory loss. Among females, 1.2 million had at least mild hearing loss, 2.2 million had at least mild vision loss, and 450,000 had dual sensory loss. Mild sensory loss was more common than moderate or severe sensory loss. Most people who needed glasses wore them, but only 25% of females and 30% of males who had moderate or worse hearing loss had a hearing aid. In the second sub-study, it was found that a substantial number of people with a sensory loss (as defined by behavioural testing) did not report subjective sensory difficulties. Older participants were significantly less likely than younger participants to self-report sensory difficulty. Sensory difficulties were reported more often by males and by those with more comorbid health conditions. Participants with vision difficulties were more likely than those without to also report hearing difficulties and vice versa. A smaller living space was associated with hearing difficulties, and less social support and loneliness with vision difficulties. The hearing data were also used to validate a hearing scale developed for the COMPASS-ND study.