Hearing-related quality of life outcomes for Singaporean children using hearing aids or cochlear implants

The Children Using Hearing Devices Quality of Life Questionnaire (CuHDQOL) is a new parent-administered hearing-specific questionnaire for children fitted with hearing devices. The aim of this study was to assess outcomes for hearing-impaired children in Singapore using this measure, as well as to examine its applicability for use in a clinical setting.

The CuHDQOL has 26 items, uses a recall period of 1 month, and is divided into three sections: parental perspectives and expectations (eight items), impact on the family (eight items) and hearing-related quality of life (QOL) of the child (10 items). Responses are made on a 5-point Likert scale, and transformed to a score from 0-100. Twenty-two parents of children with hearing aids and 14 parents of children with cochlear implants completed the CuHDQOL.

The mean total CuHDQOL scores was 62/100 for the children using hearing aids and 53/100 for children with cochlear implants. Scores for the children using hearing aids were higher across all subscales, with a linear regression showing this to be significant for the parental perspectives and expectations subscale (B=-10.58, P=0.041). Analyses of Variance showed that both the 'Parent Perspective and Expectations' and the 'Hearing-related QOL' subscales were significantly higher than the 'Impact on Family' subscale for both groups (P≤0.003).

The CuHDQOL was found to be a simple, efficient questionnaire that could easily be incorporated into clinical practice to provide a more holistic evaluation of a child's outcomes post intervention, and/or to monitor their progress over time.