Quality of life of hearing-impaired older women

A survey of 66 hearing-impaired older women aged 54 to 96 years interviewed at home examined major influences on quality of life experienced by 27 prevocationally deaf and 39 later onset subjects. A causal model was specified; the predictors of quality of life included age, age at onset of hearing loss, financial adequacy, social hearing handicap, perceived health, and functional social support. The model proposed that health, social support, hearing handicap, and financial adequacy would directly affect quality of life as well as mediate the effect of the demographic variables, age and age at onset of loss, on this outcome. Later onset subjects were hypothesized to have lower quality of life due to increased social hearing handicap, decreased health, and decreased functional social support. Results of the path analysis showed the best predictors of quality of life to be social hearing handicap, functional social support, and perceived health. The later onset group had an overall lower perception of quality of life, this relationship being mediated as predicted. Generally, the hypothesized causal model was supported with 34% of variance explained. Descriptive findings also supported a difference in social hearing handicap between the two groups, yielding several implications for nursing interventions.