Daily Stress, Hearing-Specific Stress and Coping: Self-reports from Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children and Children With Auditory Processing Disorder

Auditory processing disorder: an online survey of hearing healthcare professionals' knowledge and practices

OBJECTIVE

To investigate (1) the current level of awareness and knowledge on Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) among Audiologists and other hearing healthcare professionals; (2) current practices in screening, diagnosis, and management of APD in children and adults across the UK; (3) professional's acceptance of APD assessment and diagnosis.

DESIGN

An online survey was disseminated through the British Academy of Audiology and ENT UK.

STUDY SAMPLE

A total of 191 hearing healthcare professionals responded to the survey.

RESULTS

Overall, while 63% of the respondents considered themselves to be adequately informed about APD, only 4% viewed themselves as very informed on the topic. Fewer than half of the respondents report screening (31%), diagnosing (14%), or managing (36%) cases of APD. For screening APD, professionals most commonly use auditory processing tests in adults and take case histories in children, whereas routine audiological procedures are the primary method for diagnosing APD in both adults and children. Although modifying the listening environment is a widely recommended management strategy for APD, half of the respondents indicated that a diagnosis of APD has no implications for patient management.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a critical need to promote APD-related training to ensure they can provide appropriate referrals and management.

Emotional abilities in preadolescents and adolescents with long-term cochlear implant use

OBJECTIVES

Emotional abilities (EAs) are particularly important during preadolescence/adolescence, two challenging periods characterized by significant biological, physical, and cognitive changes. The present study attempted to a holistic EA approach in preadolescents/adolescents with cochlear implants (CI) and typical hearing (TH), considering various aspects such as perception, cognitive facilitation, comprehension, and management of emotions. A secondary aim was to identify significant demographic and audiological factors of EA development.

METHODS

CI/TH groups were matched for chronological age, nonverbal IQ, gender, economic income, and maternal level of education. Each group consisted of 43 participants (age range 10-18 years). EAs were evaluated by using the multi-trait/method IE-ACCME test. Auditory-linguistic assessments included participants' lexical skills and Matrix performance as well.

RESULTS

EA performance for perception and cognitive facilitation did not show any statistically significant CI/TH group differences (p > 0.05). Significant CI/TH differences emerged for emotion comprehension and management: CI group performed significantly worse in understanding emotional blends (t = 2.56, p = 0.014) but better in personal emotion management (t = -2.01, p = 0.048). For the CI group, gender showed statistically significant effects on cognitive facilitation in sensations, with males performing better than females (U = 129, p = 0.018). TH preadolescents showed significantly lower scores in understanding emotional changes in comparison to TH adolescents (U = 125.5, p = 0.01). Emotional blends understanding showed a weak negative correlation with Matrix performance (r = - 0.38, p = 0.013) and a moderate positive correlation with lexical skills (r = 0.40, p = 0.008). Relationships management showed various significant correlations: weak negative correlations with age at CI (r = - 0.38, p = 0.011) and Matrix performance (r = - 0.36, p = 0.016) as well as weak positive correlations with nonverbal-IQ (r = 0.38, p = 0.013) and positive moderate correlations with lexical skills (r = 0.49, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Cochlear implantation seems to show significant positive effects on emotional development in children, allowing them to achieve age appropriate EAs as they grow up and become preadolescents/adolescents. EA assessment in CI users may not only support monitorization of EA trajectory, but also early identification of any EA disorders, so that subjects with low EA profiles could be timely and properly intervened.

Examination of Predictive Factors Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours and Compare Coping Styles with Stress of Adolescents with and without Hearing Loss: A Comparative Study

Objective: Examination of predictive factors healthy lifestyle behaviours and compare coping styles with stress of adolescents with and without Hearing Loss (HL). Methods: A comparative cross‐sectional design was employed. The participants comprise high school students with (n= 272) and without (n= 272) HL. Participants completed questionnaires on coping styles with stress and Adolescent Lifestyle Profile Scale 2 (ALP‐R2). Descriptive statistics, chi‐square, t‐test, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the responses given to the above instruments. Results: Adolescents without HL (116.46±16.89) had significantly higher scores on the lifestyle profile scale than another group (113.68±16.12) (p

Longitudinal effects of emotion awareness and regulation on mental health symptoms in adolescents with and without hearing loss

Emotion awareness (EA) and regulation (ER) are each known to associate with mental health symptoms, yet there is a paucity of longitudinal studies examining them jointly during adolescence. Furthermore, little is known about these skills and their relations in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents, who are at risk for reduced emotion socialization and for more mental health symptoms. This longitudinal study examined the development and unique contributions of EA (emotion differentiation, emotion communication and bodily unawareness) and ER (approach, avoidance and worry/rumination) to internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescents with and without hearing loss. Using self- and parent's reports, we assessed 307 adolescents (age 9-15) three times over 18-month period. We found stability over time in development of EA and avoidance ER, increase in approach ER and decrease in worry/rumination. High levels and increases over time in two aspects of EA, emotion differentiation and communication, and in approach and avoidance ER were related to decreases in depressive symptoms. An increase in approach ER was also related to a decrease in anxiety symptoms. Yet, low levels or decreases in worry/rumination were related to decreased levels of depressive, anxiety and externalizing symptoms. Hearing loss did not moderate any of the variables or relations tested. Preliminary tests suggested heterogeneity within the DHH group according to educational placement, language abilities and parental education level. Overall, findings pointed at unique contributions of EA and ER to mental health development, suggesting that DHH adolescents, especially in mainstream schools, do not differ from their hearing peers in their emotion awareness and regulation.

Experiences of Patients With Auditory Processing Disorder in Getting Support in Health, Education, and Work Settings: Findings From an Online Survey

Objective: To explore the views and experiences of individuals with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and/or their families in getting support from services and to receive their suggestions for improvement.

Design: Cross-sectional random sample survey with descriptive analysis.

Settings: Online survey.

Participants: One hundred and fifty six individuals with APD and/or their family members from the APD Support UK patient support organization and four associated APD Facebook groups.

Main Outcome Measure: A 16-item questionnaire on negative and positive experiences in getting a referral for diagnosis, funding for the FM system, and overall support for APD.

Results: The key findings that emerged included reports of difficulty in getting a referral for diagnosis (54%), obtaining funding for an FM system (45%), getting support for APD (61%), and poor recognition and awareness of APD (63%) in Education, Health or Work settings. The positive experiences reported were ease in getting a referral for diagnosis (46%), in obtaining an FM system (20%), and with diagnosis leading to help at school or to a better understanding of the condition and the required adjustments. The recommended improvement areas were raising awareness of APD and related management in Education (30%), the Health sector (25%), and the public (18%).

Conclusions: Individuals and families of individuals with APD overwhelmingly report a lack of awareness of APD across health, education, and work sectors, and difficulties in getting access to diagnosis and support. This information may provide an initial understanding of the patients' needs for clinical services for APD, identify research priorities, and influence longer-term public health decisions toward improved care.

Association of Slight to Mild Hearing Loss With Behavioral Problems and School Performance in Children

Importance

Children with severe hearing loss are known to have more behavioral problems and may perform worse at school than children without. Few large-scale studies of slight to mild hearing loss are available.

Objective

To examine the relevance of slight to mild hearing loss by studying its association with behavioral problems and school performance.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study was performed within an ongoing prospective birth cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Participants were part of a population-based sample of children. Between ages 9 and 11 years, 5355 children underwent audiometric and behavioral evaluations. Children were excluded if they had missing data for either audiometry or both outcomes. Data were collected from April 2012 through October 2015. Data were analyzed from March to June 2018.

Exposures

Audiometric evaluation included pure-tone audiometry tests and speech-in-noise testing.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Child behavior was rated by the primary caregiver using the Child Behavior Checklist at ages 9 to 11 years (n = 4471). School performance was measured with a standardized test at age 12 years (n = 2399).

Results

The final sample included 4779 participants who were a mean (SD) age of 9.8 (0.3) years. The sample had nearly equal distribution between boys (n = 2200; 49.2%) and girls (n = 2271; 50.8%). Associations of hearing thresholds with behavioral problems differed between boys and girls. Among boys, higher pure-tone hearing thresholds at low frequencies were associated with higher total problem, social problem, and attention problem scores (total problems for the better-hearing ear: β = 0.01; 95% CI, 0-0.02). Higher speech reception thresholds were associated with higher attention problem scores among girls (β = 0.04; 95% CI, 0-0.08). Higher speech reception thresholds were associated with poorer school performance scores for both boys and girls (β = -0.06; 95% CI, -0.10 to -0.02).

Conclusions and Relevance

Higher hearing thresholds during pure-tone audiometric and speech-in-noise testing were associated with higher behavioral problem scores and poorer school performance. This supports the relevance of slight to mild hearing loss with these outcomes in school-aged children.

Emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents with hearing loss and their effects on quality of life

PURPOSE

Determination of mental functions in children with hearing loss is important in improving the quality of life of the child. Many scales have been developed for this purpose. In this study, it was aimed to determine the emotional and behavioral effects of both the child with hearing loss and the parent in the hearing loss and device process, and to investigate the effect of this situation on the quality of life.

METHODS

Forty-five children aged 7-17 years with sensorineural hearing loss with audiometric methods and 32 healthy controls without hearing problem were included in the study. All children received a Powers-Weakness Questionnaire-Self-Reporting Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Kid-KINDL Quality of Life Scale. In all parents, the Parental Statement of Powers-Weaknesses Questionnaire and the Kid-KINDL Quality of Life Scale parental form questionnaires were applied.

RESULTS

In the patient group, both mother (p = 0.001) and father (p = 0.027) education levels were significantly lower than the control group. The success rate of the sick children was lower than that of healthy children (p = 0.013). According to the surveys, the quality of life scale and all subscales were significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group (p < 0.05 for each). Child depression inventory score was also significantly higher in the patient group (p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Data obtained in the study indicate that children with hearing disabilities should be closely monitored and undergo a better rehabilitation process in terms of both anxiety and depression and their quality of life. According to our findings, since the parents of hearing-impaired children are observed to have a low level of education, it is seen that these families should be educated more closely in approaching children and improving their quality of life.