Effects of hearing aids in the balance, quality of life and fear to fall in elderly people with sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

Summary Introduction: The aging process provokes structural modifications and functional to it greets, compromising the postural control and central processing. Studies have boarded the necessity to identify to the harmful factors of risk to aged the auditory health and security in stricken aged by auditory deficits and with alterations of balance. Objective: To evaluate the effect of auditory prosthesis in the quality of life, the balance and the fear of fall in aged with bilateral auditory loss. Method: Carried through clinical and experimental study with 56 aged ones with sensorineural auditory loss, submitted to the use of auditory prosthesis of individual sonorous amplification (AASI). The aged ones had answered to the questionnaires of quality of life Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Falls Efficacy International Scale- (FES-I) and the test of Berg Balance Scale (BBS). After 4 months, the aged ones that they adapted to the use of the AASI had been reevaluated. Results: It had 50% of adaptation of the aged ones to the AASI. It was observed that the masculine sex had greater difficulty in adapting to the auditory device and that the variable age, degree of loss, presence of humming and vertigo had not intervened with the adaptation to auditory prosthesis. It had improvement of the quality of life in the dominance of the State General Health (EGS) and Functional Capacity (CF) and of the humming, as well as the increase of the auto-confidence after adaptation of auditory prosthesis. Conclusion: The use of auditory prosthesis provided the improvement of the domains of the quality of life, what it reflected consequently in one better auto-confidence and in the long run in the reduction of the fear of fall in aged with sensorineural auditory loss.

Quality of life after intervention with a cochlear implant or hearing aid

“…By comparison, the largest study to date examining pre‐ and post‐HA intervention actually found decreases in general health after 3 months in a sample of 93 Australians . In contrast, a prospective study of 56 HA recipients in Brazil demonstrated improvements in general health perception and physical function domain after 4 months . Finally, Joore et al found improvements in SF‐36 social functioning domain 5 months post‐HA fitting in a population of 80 hearing impaired adults in the Netherlands .…”

“…17 In contrast, a prospective study of 56 HA recipients in Brazil demonstrated improvements in general health perception and physical function domain after 4 months. 21 Finally, Joore et al found improvements in SF-36 social functioning domain 5 months post-HA fitting in a population of 80 hearing impaired adults in the Netherlands. 22 These differences in findings may be attributable to different sample sizes and baseline quality-of-life scores.…”

“…19 CI and HA could plausibly improve quality of life though improvements to speech and noise understanding, 20 social interaction, 9 or cognitive function. 3 No study to date has found statistically significant improvements in SF-36 summary scores after hearing aid use, 17,21 although one study did report increases in the social function domain. 22 Studies examining change in SF-36 after cochlear implantation have been more extensive 15,23 ; however, only one study of 22 Dutch adults has found improvements in SF-36 summary measures.…”

Análise comparativa do equilíbrio postural pela posturografia em pacientes com vertigem isolada ou associada com perda auditiva

“…The differences in age, degree of hearing loss, presence of tinnitus and vertigo did not interfere in adjustment to the hearing aid. There was an improvement in the quality of life in the areas of general health condition, functional capacity and tinnitus, as well as increase of self-confidence after adjustment to the hearing aid and, consequently, improvement in attention, reducing the risk of falls (15) . Even though there is an increasing use of statokinesiometry (which is part of posturography) in studies to quantitatively assess the vestibulospinal component of body balance (16)(17)(18) , little is yet known about the relation between hearing problems and changes in postural balance verified through stabilographic parameters, such as CoP area and swaying speed.…”

“…The results have shown a difference between the two groups in terms of complaints of dizziness and tinnitus, more prevalent among individuals of Group B (14) . Intending to assess the improvement in hearing, with the help of a hearing aid, in relation to balance and fear of falling among elderly with bilateral hearing loss, a clinical and experimental study was carried out (15) involving 56 elderly individuals with sensorineural hearing loss, subjected to the use of hearing aids. The elderly were subjected to the Short Form Health Survey, the International Falls Efficacy Scale and the Berg Balance Scale.…”