Severe to profound hearing impairment: quality of life, psychosocial consequences and audiological rehabilitation.

Purpose: To study the quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial consequences in terms of sick leave and audiological rehabilitation given to patients with severe to profound hearing impairment.

Method: A retrospective study of data on 2319 patients with severe to profound hearing impairment in The Swedish Quality Register of Otorhinolaryngology, followed by a posted questionnaire including The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Results: The results indicate greater levels of anxiety and depression among patients with severe or profound hearing impairment than in the general population, and annoying tinnitus and vertigo had strong negative effects on QoL.

The ICF core sets for hearing loss project: functioning and disability from the patient perspective.

Objective: To explore areas of functioning, disability, and environmental factors of adults with hearing loss (HL) by using the ICF classification as a tool to determine and document each element.

Design: A qualitative study applying mainly focus-group methodology was applied.

Study Sample: Thirty-six Dutch and South African adults (≥ 18 years of age) with HL (20-95 dB HL) who used oral communication as first communication.