Apa Enrico, Nocini Riccardo, Ciorba Andrea, Sacchetto Luca, Gherpelli Chiara, Monzani Daniele, Palma Silvia
Audiology Unit, Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e di Comunità, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2023-2027, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Policlinico of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy.
Otorrhinolaryngology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Dentistry, Gynaecology and Paediatrics, University of Verona, Borgo Roma Hospital, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Audiol Res. 2024 Dec 12;14(6):1105-1113. doi: 10.3390/audiolres14060091.
: Hearing loss is a highly prevalent condition in the world population that determines emotional, social, and economic costs. In recent years, it has been definitely recognized that the lack of physiological binaural hearing causes alterations in the localization of sounds and reduced speech recognition in noise and reverberation. This study aims to explore the psycho-social profile of adult workers affected by single-sided deafness (SSD), without other major medical conditions and otological symptoms, through comparison to subjects with normal hearing. : This is a cross-sectional, case-control study. Subjects aged between 24 and 65 years, all currently employed and affected by SSD, were enrolled. They were administered both disease-specific and psychometric tests, such as the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA), the Profile Questionnaire for Rating Communicative Performance, the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI), and the Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ). : A total of 149 subjects (mean age = 49.9; SD ± 8.5) were enrolled in the period 2021-2023; 68 were males (45.6%), and 81 were females (54.4%). The normal hearing group was composed of 95 subjects, and the SSD sample was composed of 54 subjects. The results of our study show that the levels of psychological well-being and social functioning in subjects with SSD are statistically worse than in the group of subjects with normal hearing in most subscales. : This study definitely outlined evidence for a significantly worse psychological health status and a poorer social attitude of working adults affected by SSD with respect to their normal-hearing counterparts. Understanding the impact of SSD on patients' work environment suggests a multidisciplinary approach to such patients in order to increase their quality of life through adequate counseling, acceptance, and role modeling.
听力损失在世界人口中是一种非常普遍的状况，会带来情感、社会和经济成本。近年来，人们已经明确认识到，缺乏生理性双耳听力会导致声音定位改变，以及在噪声和混响环境中语音识别能力下降。本研究旨在通过与听力正常的受试者进行比较，探索无其他重大疾病和耳科症状的成年单侧耳聋（SSD）患者的心理社会状况。
这是一项横断面病例对照研究。纳入了年龄在24岁至65岁之间、目前均有工作且患有SSD的受试者。他们接受了特定疾病测试和心理测试，如成人听力障碍量表（HHIA）、沟通表现评分问卷、心理总体幸福感指数（PGWBI）和社会功能问卷（SFQ）。
在2021年至2023年期间，共纳入了149名受试者（平均年龄 = 49.9；标准差±8.5）；其中68名男性（45.6%），81名女性（54.4%）。听力正常组由95名受试者组成，SSD样本由54名受试者组成。我们的研究结果表明，在大多数子量表中，SSD受试者的心理健康水平和社会功能在统计学上比听力正常组更差。
本研究明确概述了证据，表明受SSD影响的在职成年人与听力正常的同龄人相比，心理健康状况明显更差，社会态度更消极。了解SSD对患者工作环境的影响表明，应对此类患者采用多学科方法，通过适当的咨询、接纳和榜样示范来提高他们的生活质量。
