Impact of hearing impairment on quality of life of adolescents

Introduction. Hearing impairment, as a type of sensory disability affects the quality of life of adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine whether the quality of life of adolescents with hearing impairments was different from the quality of life of adolescents without disabilities, and to examine the correlation between self- reported quality of life and proxy- report by their parents. Materials and Methods. The study included 52 adolescents with hearing impairment and 122 adolescents without developmental disabilities, aged from 13 to 18 years and their parents. Data were collected by a standardized questionnaire, the PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scale. The survey was conducted during May and June 2011 in 6 schools in Novi Sad and Belgrade. Results. Adolescents with hearing impairment and their parents reported lower scores on all scales of questionnaire. The average score of physical health was 77.58; p<0.001 (adolescents), and 75; p=0,006 (parents); on psycho-social summary scale 75.35; p=0.025 (adolescents), and 73.37; p=0.02 (parents). On the overall scale, the adolescents scored 76.13; p<0.001, and parents reported 73.93; p<0.001. The parents assessed the quality of life lower than their children. On the total summary scale, a moderate agreement (r = 0.51) was found between self- report and proxy- report. Conclusion. Hearing loss affects all aspects of the quality of life of adolescents. A multidisciplinary approach is required in order to provide better conditions for functioning of these children and improve their quality of life.