Quality of life: comparison between elderly hearing aid users who participated in a support group and those who did not

Abstract

Introduction: communication is a vital need of all human beings; and is directly affected by hearing
loss, particularly among the elderly. In this context, support groups have emerged, to improve their quality
of life. Objective: to compare the quality of life of elderly people users of hearing aids, who participate
in a support group of the Serviço Ambulatorial de Saúde Auditiva (SASA) at a Community University,
with those non-participants. Method: The SF-36 and HHIE-S questionnaires were applied to 27 elderly,

who were divided into two groups – Group 1 (15 elderly individuals non-participants in the support
group), Group 2 (12 participants). Results: there was a prevalence of females (58.33%), the age group
of Group 2 was higher; hearing handicap was present in both groups, but to a lesser extent in Group 2
(66.37%); there was a major difference between the groups on the emotional scale; the perception of
hearing handicap was greater among females (44.44% - 1 and 33.33% - 2); the perception of quality of
life (SF-36) was greater in Group 2 (averages from 45.83 to 91.67); the best average scores in the SF-36
in Group 1 were obtained by the subjects aged 60 to 75 years (39.33% to 86.93%) while in Group 2, the
best average scores were obtained for the age range 75 to 91 years (47.5% to 93.75%). Conclusion: the
higher the age range, the greater the importance of participation in the support group, to improve quality
of life and acceptance of the hearing loss.