Prospective study on third-party disability in elderly hearing impaired people before and after cochlear implantation

Hearing loss does not only bother the hearing impaired subjects themselves but also the significant others (SOS). So far little attention has been paid to these partners in auditory rehabilitation. The aim of the presented study was to investigate who is affected the most.

Before and 6 months after cochlear implantation (CI) burden of hearing loss in 41 significant others (18 man/ 23 women, 28 spouses or partners, with a mean age of 59,6) of 41 moderate to severe hearing impaired was evaluated by the SOS-Hear Questionnaire. 28 relatives had normal hearing, 7 a slight, 2 a moderate and 4 a severe hearing loss.

Other relatives suffered more than spouses and partners (p=0,008), but also showed a greater improvement after CI. A similar effect was observed for female compared to male relatives (p=0,005). Partners of older patients judged the burden higher than relatives of younger ones (p=0,016). However, age of significant others did not lead to any significant difference.

Neither hearing ability of the patients nor of the relatives had a significant impact on burden (p=0,099; p=0,188). Duration of patient's hearing impairment negatively correlated with the partner´s burden before CI. SOS of patients with a shorter history of hearing impairment perceived greater improvement from CI (p<0,05).

Although cochlear implantation leads to a significant improvement in the quality of life also for the SOS, some suffer more from third-party disability pre- as well as postoperatively and should be looked after carefully.

Publication History

Article published online:
24 May 2022