Access to Hearing Health Care, Geographical Residency, and Quality of Life in Adults with and without Hearing Loss.

Background: There is an increased interest in the impact that hearing loss has on general well-being, including overall quality of life (QOL), to improve and expand care that is provided to individuals with hearing loss.

Purpose: To evaluate QOL in adults with and without access to hearing health care (HHC).

Research Design: A cross-sectional study examined QOL across groups of individuals with and without hearing loss.

Study Sample: One hundred eight participants from West Central and South Alabama received pure-tone hearing evaluations. Thirty-two adults had hearing within normal limits and 76 had at least a mild hearing loss in one ear.

Data Collection And Analysis: The Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), the Charlson Comorbidity Index, and an Accessibility to Health Care questionnaire were administered to all participants. The QOLI outcomes were used as the dependent variable for the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) statistical procedures.

Results: For adults with hearing loss who did not have access to HHC, lower QOL scores were reported compared with those with access to HHC, but this finding was not significant. Although ANCOVA results did not suggest QOL differences across geographical regions, effect size calculations indicated that adults with hearing loss who lived in the most rural regions of Alabama had lower reported QOL scores than their counterparts who had hearing within normal limits. Finally, those with higher incomes, who were older, and who had fewer physical disorders reported higher QOL than those with lower incomes, who were younger, and who had more physical ailments.

Conclusions: Adults with hearing loss who live in regions without access to HHC might be at risk for decreased QOL. A number of models for improving access to HHC will be necessary to decrease this potential risk.