Kalsotra Gopika, Mahajan Youshita, Saraf Aditya, Kalsotra Parmod
Govt Medical college, Jammu, India.
Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2023 Dec;75(4):3320-3325. doi: 10.1007/s12070-023-03996-8. Epub 2023 Jun 21.
Our ability to hear and speak enables us to communicate with others, forming an integral part of our emotional and social well-being. Vocal problems in hearing-impaired patients have yet to be assessed in terms of subjective level of disability they cause. Present study aims to assess the different Voice Handicap Index (VHI) scores among patients with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss and compare them to those with normal hearing.
In this prospective case control study(n = 150), study group A (n = 100) consisted of subjects with bilateral moderate to profound hearing loss on Pure tone audiometry and control group B (n = 50) with normal hearing. Both groups were asked to fill out VHI form after a normal videostroboscopic assessment.
Mean VHI score in group A was 57.5 ± 12.48 and 6.0 ± 3.24 in group B, difference being statistically significant. A strong positive correlation was found between severity of hearing loss and VHI total score. The difference between both groups was also statistically significant for each of the three subscales of VHI.
We infer that subjects with moderate and higher bilateral sensorineural hearing loss hearing have statistically significant higher VHI scores as compared to those with normal hearing. It was observed that perception of voice handicap increased with the severity of hearing loss. These findings emphasize the need for multilateral assessment and treatment of voice disorders in subjects with hearing loss.
我们的听力和言语能力使我们能够与他人交流，这是我们情感和社会福祉不可或缺的一部分。听力受损患者的嗓音问题尚未从其所导致的主观残疾程度方面进行评估。本研究旨在评估中度至重度感音神经性听力损失患者的不同嗓音障碍指数（VHI）得分，并将其与听力正常者进行比较。
在这项前瞻性病例对照研究（n = 150）中，研究组A（n = 100）由纯音听力测试显示双侧中度至重度听力损失的受试者组成，对照组B（n = 50）为听力正常者。两组在进行正常的频闪喉镜评估后均被要求填写VHI表格。
A组的平均VHI得分为57.5±12.48，B组为6.0±3.24，差异具有统计学意义。听力损失严重程度与VHI总分之间存在强正相关。VHI三个子量表中的每一个在两组之间的差异也具有统计学意义。
我们推断，与听力正常者相比，双侧中度及以上感音神经性听力损失患者的VHI得分在统计学上显著更高。据观察，嗓音障碍的感知随着听力损失的严重程度而增加。这些发现强调了对听力损失患者嗓音障碍进行多方面评估和治疗的必要性。
