Abstract: Objective: External assessment of health-related quality of life
(HRQL) in children and adolescents with permanent hearing loss. Method: 292 parents of hearing-impaired children received a
standardized, age-adapted HRQL questionnaire (KINDL-R; on average 5.5 years
after the provision with hearing aids). 68.8% of the questionnaires were sent
back. Study group: 178 children (91 boys, 87 girls), age 4.0 to 16.11
years; 23 children with multiple handicaps, age 4.0 to 16.0 years. The children
were patients of the Goettinger Hoer-Sprachregister. Results: The overall HRQL in children with hearing loss only was not
adversely affected by the sensory disorder (Total HRQL 77.2; SD = 9.5 on a
scale from 0 to 100). Boys (76.5; SD = 9.9) and girls (77.9; SD = 9.2) did not
show a significant difference. The mean Total HRQL-score of the multiple
handicapped children was reduced (68.0; SD = 15.3; p = 0.01) compared to those
without other impairments. Age and contentment with school/kindergarten of the
children with hearing loss were negatively correlated (r = −0.27; p <
0.001). The parents of the children with multiple handicaps rated the LQ of the
scales "somatic well being" (p = 0.003) and "friends" (p = 0.001) lower. Conclusions: Children with hearing impairment did not exhibit a
general reduction of HRQL. HRQL of hearing-impaired children with comorbid
disabilities is clearly diminished. Nevertheless the disorder seems to make
social interactions more difficult and thus impede the psychosocial development
of a child. Interactions between changed attitudes of parents and their effects
on the child are to assume.
Keywords: Hearing loss, children, adolescents, quality of life, parental report
