The impact of hearing impairment on family relationships of schoolchildren who use individual sound amplification devices

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To analyze the impact of the diagnosis of hearing loss on the family relationships of schoolchildren who use hearing aids.

Methods

The sample consisted of 26 parents from schools with hearing aid hearing aid users aged between 4 and 14 years, assisted in a public Hearing Health Program. Parents responded to an objective, prepared by the authors without prior validation, with seven questions on the subject. Inferential statistical analysis was performed whenever possible.

Results

Most parents do not report having had personal difficulties and/or strain in family relationships with their hearing-impaired child. No association was found between the degree of hearing loss and the communication difficulties between both family groups. There was also no association between language modality and communication difficulty between the two groups, although in the broader family group the responses were not as unanimous as in the main family group.

Conclusion

Parents did not report a significant impact on family relationships and communication with their children with hearing loss who use hearing aids, regardless of the degree of hearing impairment and language modality. Among the broader family group, there was also no significant association between the degree of hearing impairment or the language modality used and communication difficulties between the child and the family, even with more heterogeneous responses than in the main family group.

Keywords:
Hearing loss; Family relations; Child development; Hearing aids; Communication barriers