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Updated: Aug 12, 2026
Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Published on: January 25, 2016
Hearing Handicap and Speech Recognition Correlate With Self-Reported Listening Effort and Fatigue
Sara Alhanbali1,2,3, Piers Dawes1,2,3, Simon Lloyd1,2,3
1Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Objectives:
To investigate the correlations between hearing handicap, speech recognition, listening effort, and fatigue.
Design:
Eighty-four adults with hearing loss (65 to 85 years) completed three self-report questionnaires: the Fatigue Assessment Scale, the Effort Assessment Scale, and the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly. Audiometric assessment included pure-tone audiometry and speech recognition in noise.
Results:
There was a significant positive correlation between handicap and fatigue (r = 0.39, p < 0.05) and handicap and effort (r = 0.73, p < 0.05). There were significant (but lower) correlations between speech recognition and fatigue (r = 0.22, p < 0.05) or effort (r = 0.32, p< 0.05). There was no significant correlation between hearing level and fatigue or effort.
Conclusions:
Hearing handicap and speech recognition both correlate with self-reported listening effort and fatigue, which is consistent with a model of listening effort and fatigue where perceived difficulty is related to sustained effort and fatigue for unrewarding tasks over which the listener has low control. A clinical implication is that encouraging clients to recognize and focus on the pleasure and positive experiences of listening may result in greater satisfaction and benefit from hearing aid use.
