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The interplay of views on aging and hearing in later life

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Published/Copyright: February 24, 2026

Abstract

Views on aging describe how old people feel and how they perceive and evaluate their own aging process. In this article, we show that hearing loss – a common phenomenon among people in the second half of life – is interrelated with views on aging. We also discuss implications for practice; for example, with regard to promoting positive views on aging by means of interventions, as well as regarding the prevention and treatment of hearing loss (especially by means of hearing aid provision).

Zusammenfassung

Das subjektive Alternserleben beschreibt, wie alt sich Menschen fühlen und wie sie ihr Älterwerden wahrnehmen und bewerten. In diesem Beitrag zeigen wir auf, dass eingeschränktes Hören – ein häufiges Phänomen bei Menschen in der zweiten Lebenshälfte – mit subjektivem Alternserleben zusammenhängt. Zudem werden zentrale Implikationen für die Praxis diskutiert, etwa im Hinblick auf die interventionsgestützte Verbesserung des subjektiven Alternserlebens oder die Hörgeräteversorgung.


*Corresponding author: Dr. Markus Wettstein, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Institut für Community Medicine, Abteilung für Präventionsforschung und Sozialmedizin, Walther-Rathenau-Straße 48, 17475 Greifswald, Germany

  1. Author Declaration

  2. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission. Funding: The project AgeHearing-QoL received funding by the Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA; funding reference: 01VSF24037). Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest. Ethical statement: No primary data for human or animals was collected for this research work.

  3. Autorenerklärung

  4. Autorenbeteiligung: Alle Autor:innen tragen Verantwortung für den gesamten Inhalt dieses Artikels und haben der Einreichung des Manuskripts zugestimmt. Finanzierung: Dieser Beitrag entstand im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts AgeHearing-QoL, das durch den Innovationsfonds des Gemeinsamen Bundesausschusses gefördert wird (G-BA; Förderkennzeichen: 01VSF24037). Interessenkonflikt: Die Autor:innen erklären, dass kein wirtschaftlicher oder persönlicher Interessenkonflikt vorliegt. Ethisches Statement: Für die Forschungsarbeit wurden weder von Menschen noch von Tieren Primärdaten erhoben.

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Published Online: 2026-02-24
Published in Print: 2026-02-24

©2026 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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