CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Laryngorhinootologie 2019; 98(S 02): S341-S342
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1686604
Poster
Phoniatrics/Pediatric Audiology

Hearing loss: gender-related quality of life

L Götze
1   Universitätsklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde Halle/Saale, Halle/S.
,
L Harbert
2   Universitätsklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Bochum
,
JP Thomas
2   Universitätsklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Bochum
,
C Völter
2   Universitätsklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Bochum
› Author Affiliations
 

Gender aspects are not considered in hearing rehabilitation so far. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of gender on the patient himself as well as on his significant others (SO).

41 male and 61 female patients suffering from bilateral severe hearing loss (mean age: 65,8 y) were asked to fulfill questionnaires regarding health-related quality of life (Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire) and coping strategies (Brief-COPE). Besides, 35 significant others reported on patient's quality of life, the perceived stress due to the hearing loss of the partner and the daily burden assessed by the SOS-Hear prior as well as 6 months after implantation.

Although female patients rated their own overall QOL pre- and postoperative lower than men, the scores given by them increased to a higher extent. Men faced hearing loss with humour (f 3,3 vs. m 4,2), whereas women favored support by others (f 5,2 vs. m 4,6) as measured by the Brief-COPE.

Patient's QOL evaluated by female SOs was lower in comparison to male SOs pre- as well as postoperatively. Regarding daily life women experienced a higher level of stress (f 33,3 vs. m 25,0) as well as daily burden (f 1,4 vs. m 1,1). On the other hand female SOs showed more benefit from restoration of hearing loss.

Women experienced more stress than men either as patients or as SOs. Individuals above 60 years suffered less than the younger ones. There was no influence of the partners' hearing ability on the assessment evaluated by the SOS-Hear as well as the PSQ and the Nijmegen questionnaire.

Gender aspects might also be important with regard to successful hearing rehabilitation and should be taken into account to a greater extent in the future.



Publication History

Publication Date:
23 April 2019 (online)

© 2019. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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