World Hearing Day 2026: Ageing well and staying socially connected for older adults with hearing loss
3 March 2026
Hear from GERI's HELLO study team as they collaborate with community and academic partners with the aim of developing evidence-informed programmes that can enhance the social connectedness of older Singaporeans with hearing loss.
This World Hearing Day, GERI shines a spotlight on hearing issues among our older population in Singapore. Even as studies indicate that the prevalence of hearing issues affecting seniors here ranges from 16.1% to 64.6%i ii iii, little is known about the implications of hearing loss on health and psychosocial well-being.
GERI is working to change this through our ongoing research on hearing loss and potential links to social connection among older adults. Known as the HELLO project for short, this study is uncovering much-needed evidence to help policymakers, care providers and community partners better support older adults with hearing difficulties to stay healthy, age well and remain socially connected in their communities.
To mark World Hearing Day, we catch up with the HELLO study team: Principal Investigator, June Teng (Research Fellow, GERI) as well as the project's quantitative analysis lead Dr Serene Nai (Research Fellow, GERI) and qualitative analysis lead, Araviinthansai Subramaniam (Research Associate, GERI). They tell us more about their ongoing collaborations with The Singapore Association for the Deaf, Lions Befrienders and more partners, plus how the team is conducting in-depth interviews and harnessing insights from the nationally-representative Singapore Life Panel to produce evidence that can inform better interventions for older adults with hearing issues.
Click through the slideshow below to find out more.
Follow GERI on LinkedIn for more updates on our researchers and their projects.
References
i. Aithal S, Visaria A, Malhotra R. Research Brief Series 14: Oral health, vision and hearing status of older adults participating in a nationwide community-based screening programme in Singapore. 2023. Available at: https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/docs/librariesprovider3/research-policy-brief-docs/oral-health-vision-and-hearing-status-of-older-adults-participating.pdf?sfvrsn=400b50f7_4. Accessed [November 12, 2024].
ii. Department of Statistics. Singapore census of population 2020, statistical release 2: Households, geographic distribution, transport and difficulty in basic activities. Singapore: Department of Statistics; 2020. Available at: https://www.singstat.gov.sg/publications/reference/cop2020/cop2020-sr2/census20_stat_release2. Accessed [October 18, 2024]
iii. Lee JC, Danker AN, Wong YH, Lim MY. Hearing loss amongst the elderly in a Southeast Asian population - A community-based study. Ann Acad Med Singap. 2017;46(4):145-154.