Fatigue in Children With Unilateral and Bilateral Hearing Loss
Sampat Sindhar1, Tzyynong L Friesen2, Delaney Carpenter3
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Insights
Children with unilateral (UHL) and bilateral hearing loss (BHL) experience significantly more fatigue than normal-hearing children. Those with BHL reported higher fatigue levels than those with UHL, highlighting the need for increased auditory support.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatrics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Hearing loss (HL) in children can impact daily functioning and quality of life.
- Understanding the extent of fatigue associated with different types of HL is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare fatigue levels in children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and bilateral hearing loss (BHL) against normal-hearing (NH) children.
- To assess the utility of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS) in this population.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted involving children aged 5-18 years with UHL or BHL.
- The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS) was administered to children and their parents.
- Data were analyzed to compare fatigue scores across UHL, BHL, and NH groups.
Main Results:
- Children with UHL and BHL reported significantly higher overall fatigue than NH children.
- Children with BHL reported greater fatigue than those with UHL.
- Increased fatigue was noted in general, sleep, and cognitive domains for both UHL and BHL groups.
Conclusions:
- Both UHL and BHL in children are associated with increased fatigue compared to NH peers.
- Bilateral hearing loss presents a greater fatigue burden than unilateral hearing loss.
- Findings support the use of the PedsQL MFS for monitoring fatigue and guiding auditory rehabilitation strategies.
Objective:
To determine whether children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) experience similar levels fatigue as children with bilateral hearing loss (BHL) or normal-hearing (NH).
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Two tertiary care otolaryngology practices.
Participants:
Children, 5 to 18 years old, with UHL or BHL and their parents.
Main Outcome Measures:
PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS) survey.
Results:
Overall response rate was 90/384 (23%). Mean age of child participants was 10.7 years old (standard deviations [SD] 3.1); 38 (42%) were men and 52 (58%) were women. Sixty-nine (77%) children had UHL, 21 (23%) had BHL. Children with BHL (mean 65, SD 21) and UHL (mean 75, SD 17) reported greater levels of fatigue than children with NH (BHL difference -15, 95% confidence interval [CI] -25 to -5; UHL difference -6, 95% CI -13-1.2). Parent-proxy reports for children with BHL (mean 67, SD 20) and UHL (mean 76, SD 20) reported more fatigue than NH (BHL difference -22, 95% CI -33 to -12; UHL difference -14; 95% CI -20 to -8). Sub-section scores for general, sleep, and cognitive fatigue were higher for children with BHL and UHL than NH.
Conclusion And Relevance:
Children with UHL and BHL reported significantly more fatigue than children with NH, and children with BHL reported more fatigue than UHL. These findings underscore the need to increase auditory rehabilitation and educational resources for children with UHL and support the use of the PedsQL MFS questionnaire as a measure to follow disability experienced by children with HL as they undergo hearing rehabilitation.
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