Investigation of the long-term effects of unilateral hearing loss in adults

The recent audiological literature has put forward the hypothesis that children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) show delays in educational achievement and academic progress and some behavioural difficulties. This motivated us to investigate the long-term effects of monaural auditory deprivation in a group of adults who had suffered from UHL since childhood. A group of subjects, ranging in age from 30 to 55 years, suffering from sensorineural UHL since early childhood, has been examined for psychosocial and psychoacoustical effects and statistically compared with a control group matched for age and sex. We prepared a questionnaire directed to provide some objective and subjective indices of psychosocial disability and handicap. Some questions were directed towards specific aspects of auditory function; others assessed the degree of education and the type of working performed. The results of the investigation confirmed the superiority of binaural v. monaural hearing. This was clearly demonstrated in psycho-acoustical performance in sound localisation, speech recognition in noise, together with the appreciation of music. On the other hand, the parameters concerned with educational, social and employment achievement did not support the existence of any significant difference between binaurally and monaurally hearing subjects. The data obtained in the present study thus do not support the existence of non-auditory, long-term effects of monaural hearing loss.