Quality of life improvement in hearing-impaired elderly people after wearing a hearing aid.

BACKGROUND Communication is an important aspect of everyday life especially for elderly people. Hearing loss can impair the exchange of information and therefore reduces the quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality of life in elderly people who are hard of hearing after wearing a hearing aid. METHODS Hearing-impaired old people who referred to the rehabilitation centers of Tehran Welfare Organization for having a hearing aid completed the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly questionnaire before and three months after using a hearing aid. Scores of the effects of hearing loss on quality of life were compared for each subject and between males and females. RESULTS The results showed a significant improvement of the quality of life after three months of using a hearing aid in all participants and betterment of their most important problems i.e., the communication and exchange of information. CONCLUSION In conclusion, with respect to the beneficial effects of hearing aids in presbycusis and due to the significant improvement in the quality of life, hearing aids are recommended for this group of population.

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