The effects of auditory amplification on subjective assessments of hearing impairment and anxiety in people with presbycusis

Abstract

Introduction/Objective Presbycusis, elderly hearing loss, is a progressive, bilateral sensoryneural hearing loss characterized by reduced sensitivity of hearing and understanding speech in a noisy environment, thereby impairing communication and inducing anxiety. The objective was to examine the impact of hearing amplification on subjective hearing disability assessment and anxiety in people with presbycusis. Method Sample consisted of 120 respondents aged 47-85 with presbycusis, 60 subjects with and 60 subjects with no auditory amplification. The standardized Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly and the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory were used in the study. Results In subjects with hearing amplification, test/retest has no statistical significance in the STAI and HHIE scales and subscales, except the HHIE-S (p = 0.004) with a lower score on the retest. Respondents in whom hearing amplification was performed during the year was statistically significant in HHIE (p = 0.016), HHIE-S (p = 0.004) and STAI-S (p = 0.029) which speaks of favorable effect of hearing amplification. In the group with no hearing amplification, statistical significance was observed in relation to the HHIE scores (p = 0.002), HHIE-E (p = 0.000), STAI (p = 0.000), STAI-S (p = 0.001) and STAI-T (p = 0.001) and it was noticed that anxiety, loss of emotional contacts, and more pronounced degree of hearing impairment were the result of unassisted hearing rehabilitation. Conclusion Audiological practice should include tests for assessment of hearing disability and anxiety in order to preserve health in later life.

Uvod/Cilj Presbiakuzija, staračka nagluvost, jeste progresivni, bilateralni senzorineuralni gubitak sluha koji karakteriše smanjena osetljivost sluha i razumevanja govora u bučnoj sredini, čime narušava komunikaciju i značajno utiče na ispoljavanje anksioznosti. Cilj rada je bio ispitati uticaj slušne amplifikacije na ispoljavanje slušne onesposobljenosti i anksioznosti kod osoba sa presbiakuzijom. Metode Uzorak su činila 120 ispitanika oba pola, starosti 47-85 godina sa presbiakuzijom, 60 ispitanika sa slušnom amplifikacijom i 60 bez sprovedene amplifikacije. U istraživanju su korišćene standardizovane skale Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly i Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory za procenu prisustva anksioznosti. Rezultati Kod ispitanika sa slušnom amplifikacijom test/retest nema statističke značajnosti u rezultatima skala i podskala STAI i HHIE, sem HHIE-S (p = 0,004) sa manjim rezultatom na retestu. Kod ispitanika kod kojih je tokom godine sprovedena slušna amplifikacija zapažena je statistički značajna razlika u HHIE (p = 0,016), HHIE-S (p = 0,004) i STAI-S (p = 0,029), što govori o povoljnom uticaju slušne amplifikacije. U grupi bez slušne amplifikacije zapažena je statistička značajnost u odnosu na rezultate HHIE (p = 0,002), HHIE-E (p = 0,000), STAI (p = 0,000), STAI-S (p = 0,001) i STAI-T (p = 0,001) i zapaženo je da su anksioznost, gubitak emocionalnih kontakata i izraženiji stepen slušne onesposobljenosti posledica nesprovedene slušne rehabilitacije. Zaključak U audiološku praksu bi trebalo uvesti testove za procenu slušne onesposobljenosti i anksioznosti u cilju očuvanja zdravlja u kasnijem životnom dobu.