"It turned out that these people had hearing loss, and that set me on a whole new area of research," Jones told Radio West host Sarah Penton. Jones says that isolation and loneliness puts seniors at higher risk of dementia, depression and decreased fitness — including more falls and hospital visits. Walk and Talk for your Life participants who exhibited signs of hearing loss also received counselling and hearing aids. They also got help for their hearing problems through education, and hearing aids, and counselling to better interact. "When we included all that information … the participants with hearing loss did beautifully," Jones said.

Source: CBC News May 27, 2018 21:00 UTC