Correlation between severity of hearing loss and self-reported participation restrictions (hearing handicap) in long term institutionalized older people

• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues,Stéfani Ribeiro
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Soldera,Cristina Loureiro Chaves, Cardoso,Maria Cristina Almeida Freitas, Bós,Ângelo José Gonçalves, Menegotto,Isabela Hoffmeister
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ggaging.com/details/198
• topic: Hearing disorders; questionnaires; homes for the aged.

<p><b>OBJECTIVES:</b> Verify the possible correlation between the responses obtained by "The Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly - HHIE" questionnaire and the hearing thresholds measured in a group of institutionalized elderly.<br> <b>METHODS:</b> The sample consisted of people resident in a long-term institution for elderly who had results from the HHIE questionnaire and an audiometric evaluation. The study included 41 individuals, of which 30 were females, aged between 63 and 92 years old.<br> <b>RESULTS:</b> All participants in this study presented some degree of hearing loss being the most with mild degree. Only 34% of the participants had a hearing handicap resulting in a weak positive correlation and statistically not significant with hearing loss.<br> <b>CONCLUSION:</b> The frequency of hearing loss was high in the sample studied, but less than half of study participants presents auditory handicap. We hypothesize that nursing home residents with mild hearing loss perceive more intensely their hearing handicap than those with more severe loss. Nursing home residents with severe hearing loss would restrict their daily life activities and social participation, not perceiving the hearing handicap.</p>