Comparison of self-assessment of hearing performance of hearing aid users with moderate and severe hearing loss

Cilj ovog rada bio je izvršiti usporedbu samoprocjene kvalitete slušanja korisnika slušnih pomagala s umjerenom i teškom nagluhošću, kako bi se stekao uvid u odnos stupnja oštećenja sluha i njegovih percipiranih posljedica te doživljaja koristi od slušnog pomagala. Upitnikom samoprocjene Profil ishoda rehabilitacije slušanja (PIRS) prikupljeni su podatci 36 sudionika podijeljenih u dvije skupine ovisno o kategoriji nagluhosti. Temeljem rezultata analize razlika u percipiranim posljedicama Mann-Whitney U testom, utvrđeno je da osobe s većim stupanjem oštećenja sluha osjećaju veći utjecaj oštećenja na kvalitetu života. Korelacijskom analizom stupnja oštećenja sluha na boljem uhu, varijabli načina uporabe slušnog pomagala te samoprocjene kvalitete slušanja, zaključeno je da osobe koje redovitije i trajnije koriste slušno pomagalo prijavljuju lakše posljedice oštećenja sluha. Implikacije ovog istraživanja upućuju na potrebnu reorganizaciju pristupa rehabilitaciji stečenih oštećenja sluha kod odraslih u smislu ponude novih usluga koje će dopuniti uslugu dodjele slušnog pomagala.This paper aims to compare the results of the self-assessment of hearing quality and related hendicap between hearing aid users with moderate and severe hearing loss, in order to investigate the relation between the degree of hearing loss and its perceived communication consequences, socio-emotional impact and the perceived hearing aid benefit. Data from 36 adult subjects, divided in two groups regarding the hearing loss category (moderate vs severe), was collected using a self-assessment questionnaire 'Aural rehabilitation outcomes profile'. The analysis of the differences in perceived impact was carried out by using Mann- Whitney U test, showing that subjects with more severe hearing loss feel greater communication and socio-emotional consequences of their hearing loss. Correlation analysis between the self-assessment variables, better-ear-pure-tone average, and variables representing hearing aid use suggest that subjects who wear hearing aid more often and longer during the day report less communication and socio-emotional consequences due to their hearing loss. This research study implies that reorganization of rehabilitation approaches is needed, which can be done by offering new services, in addition to hearing aid fitting