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Quality of Life in Children with Hearing Impairment: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Lauren Roland1, Caroline Fischer2, Kayla Tran2
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA rolandl@ent.wustl.edu.
Insights
Pediatric hearing loss (HL) significantly impacts children's quality of life (QOL), particularly in social and school domains. Interventions can improve QOL, highlighting the need for focused support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Quality of Life Research
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Background:
- Pediatric hearing loss (HL) affects school-aged children.
- Quality of life (QOL) is a crucial aspect of child development.
- Understanding the impact of HL on QOL is essential for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the impact of pediatric hearing loss (HL) on quality of life (QOL).
- To synthesize existing research on QOL in children with HL.
- To identify specific domains of QOL affected by HL.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search conducted by a medical librarian.
- Independent assessment of studies by two reviewers for inclusion.
- Meta-analysis of studies using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL).
Main Results:
- Children with HL generally report lower QOL than normal-hearing peers.
- Significant differences in PedsQL scores were found in social and school domains for children with HL.
- Interventions were shown to improve QOL in children with HL, though variability exists.
Conclusions:
- Decreased QOL in children with HL is most prominent in the PedsQL's social and school domains.
- These affected domains are critical for child development and learning.
- Future research should prioritize these QOL aspects when assessing pediatric HL.
Objective:
To determine the impact of pediatric hearing loss (HL) on quality of life (QOL).
Data Sources:
A qualified medical librarian conducted a literature search for relevant publications that evaluate QOL in school-aged children with HL.
Review Methods:
Studies were assessed independently by 2 reviewers for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis.
Results:
From 979 abstracts, 69 were identified as relevant; ultimately, 40 articles were included in the systematic review. This review revealed that children with HL generally report a lower QOL than their normal-hearing peers and that QOL improves after interventions. The extent of these differences is variable among studies and depends on the QOL measure. Four studies using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) had sufficient data for inclusion in a meta-analysis. After studies were pooled, statistically and clinically significant differences in PedsQL scores were found between children with normal hearing and those with HL, specifically in the social and school domains. Statistically significant differences were also noted in total scores for children with unilateral HL and in the physical domain for children with bilateral HL as compared with those having normal hearing; however, these differences were not clinically meaningful.
Conclusions:
Our analysis reveals that decreased QOL in children with HL is detected in distinct domains of the PedsQL. These domains-school activities and social interactions-are especially important for development and learning. Future work should focus on these aspects of QOL when assessing HL in the pediatric population.
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