During COVID-19 Lockdown, Emotional Wellbeing Declined for Adults with Vision, Hearing Loss

Older individuals with sensory impairment suffered from lack of social interactions during pandemic

Media Contact:
Larry Frum
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

SEATTLE, Dec. 1, 2021 – During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many assisted living and senior center facilities were forced to close their doors to outside visitors to limit potential exposure to the virus. While it was a step to keep the older residents physically healthy, those with sensory impairment found the isolation created mental and emotional issues.

Peggy Nelson, of the University of Minnesota, will outline the impacts in her presentation, “COVID-19 effects on social isolation for older persons with sensory loss,” at the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3. The session will take place on Dec. 1 at 6:05 p.m. Eastern U.S. in the Quinault Room of the Hyatt Regency Seattle.

Nelson and her team surveyed groups of older adults from the Twin Cities community with vision loss, hearing loss, and without either condition. They asked the participants about their worries, wellbeing, and social isolation at 6 week intervals from April 2020 to July 2021. The period corresponded to strict lockdowns in Minnesota, with some restrictions easing towards the end of the study.

All three groups of adults scored lower on a patient health questionnaire after the pandemic began. Additionally, people with vision and hearing loss faced unique problems.

“People with low vision were really hit hard,” said Nelson. “Their whole mobility systems are built around public transportation and being around other people.”

Masks made conversations especially difficult for adults with hearing loss, leading them to prefer virtual options for health care visits, among other scenarios. However, the overall quieter environment during stay-at-home orders may have compensated for some of the negative effects.

While Nelson said the changes brought by the pandemic often led to a loss of independence for impaired adults, some solutions may be within reach.

“We’ll hopefully find a new hybrid world,” she said. “People with low vision can be close to other people as needed, and people with hearing loss can have remote access to clear communication when masks would prevent that.”

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ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

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