Loneliness is becoming especially prevalent in the digital age. With our faces glued to computer and smartphone screens, face-to-face time with friends and family has fallen.

Being lonely is about more than social isolation. It can be a health threat, contributing to depression, heart problems, cognitive decline and premature death.

Add one more thing to the potential risk of ills: hearing loss.

A recent Chinese study found that loneliness increased the risk of hearing loss by 24%. That figure holds even after considering factors like age, income, depression and chronic disease. The risk is higher for lonely women, with a 30% higher risk.

The study’s large size bolsters its findings. Researchers tapped data from the nearly half-million adults in the United Kingdom Biobank, a massive repository of health information.

Respondents in the UK Biobank were asked, “Do you often feel lonely?” Nearly 1 in 5 people answered affirmatively. The biobank tracked individuals for 12 years, so scientists were able to see who would later be diagnosed with hearing loss.

Why would loneliness affect your hearing? Researchers suggest that isolation triggers a stress response in the body that increases inflammation and blood pressure. Other physical responses in the body’s stress system are also implicated. That, in turn, can damage the structures of the ear.

The study also notes that lonely people engage in riskier behaviors like smoking and are more sedentary.

This research offers a good reason to get out of the house to mingle in a nondigital environment. You should hear what you’ve been missing.