[Quality of life in the elderly with an acquired single-sided deafness.]

The study aimed to assess a negative impact of an acquired single-sided deafness on quality of life of the elderly. Prospective analysis of outpatient records was carried out to identify elderly patients with single-sided deafness using pure tone audiometry. The main inclusion criteria were age over 60, ≥90 dB threshold of an affected ear, ≤30 dB threshold of an intact ear, an acquired single-sided hearing loss with sudden onset and deafness duration less than 5 years. Taking inclusion criteria into account two groups were formed: the main group with single-sided deaf patients (n=25) and the control group of normal hearing patients (n=25). All participants were surveyed with PSQ, HHIE, THI questionnaires. There were revealed some changes in psychological status in the group of patients with single-sided deafness in comparison with the group of normal hearing participants. The scores of the questionnaires showed increased stress and anxiety levels and deterioration in quality of life. Patients with single-sided deafness complained about severe tinnitus in an affected ear, worse speech intelligibility in noisy environment and a constant need to adapt to the different acoustic situations that in turn badly affected psychoemotional homeostasis, intensifying stress severity, and quality of life.