Patients with severe-to-profound hearing impairment and simultaneous severe vision impairment: a quality-of-life study

Abstract

Conclusions: Patients with severe vision impairment in combination with severe-to-profound hearing loss seem to have a higher risk for effects on QoL, including: mobility, the ability to provide self-care and perform usual activities, and levels of anxiety and depression, compared with patients with only severe-to-profound hearing loss.

Objectives: To study the quality-of-life (QoL) and audiological rehabilitation of the severely vision-impaired patient population among adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss in Sweden.

Method: A study of data collected from 543 patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss combined with severe vision impairment among the total of 2319 persons registered in the Swedish Quality Register of Otorhinolaryngology. QoL was measured with the following instruments: EQ5D, PIRS, and HADS. Audiological rehabilitation was described and evaluated.

Results: The patients with dual sensory loss were younger, were more likely to live alone, and had a lower level of education than the control group. The QoL of the study group was significantly negatively affected. In total, 89% of the study group had been rehabilitated with hearing aids, while 8% had received rehabilitation with cochlear implants. A total of 32% of the study group had received extended audiological rehabilitation.

Keywords:

• EuroQoL-5D-3L
• the hospital anxiety and depression scale
• the problems impact rating scale
• hearing loss
• rehabilitation
• hearing aids
• cochlear implants
• dual sensory loss
• genus

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Swedish Quality Register of Otorhinolaryngology committee (http://www.entqualitysweden.se) for approving the study and supplying the data.

Disclosure Statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.