A qualitative systematic review of the impact of hearing on quality of life

PurposeHearing loss, deafness, and other hearing-related conditions can significantly impact quality of life; numerous qualitative studies have sought to describe these impacts. Synthesis of these findings may provide additional or more robust insights.MethodsA qualitative systematic review of studies reporting qualitative data relating to the impact of hearing problems on adults' health-related quality of life. A subset of studies was included in the review and subsequently analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsThe literature search yielded 129 studies, of which 22 met our inclusion criteria and were included for analysis. The included studies, primarily from Australia, the UK, and the USA, involved approximately 450 participants with various hearing conditions. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were the most common data collection methods, with thematic analysis being the predominant analytical approach. Three overarching categories of descriptive themes were identified: Physical, Mental, and Social. Physical encompassed sound localization, sound clarity, speech, and physical fatigue. Social included relationships, isolation, communication, independence, work function, social stigma, and confidence. Mental encompassed depression, anxiety, listening effort, mental fatigue, fear, and identity. The identified themes shed light on the diverse domains of health-related quality of life affected by hearing conditions.ConclusionDifferences in hearing function impact upon people's health-related quality of life in a variety of ways relating to physical, mental, and social aspects of health, and these themes are clearly demonstrated across qualitative studies. These results will inform the development of hearing-specific questionnaire items for with the EQ-5D descriptive system, a commonly used patient-reported outcome measure. Hearing loss, deafness, and other hearing-related conditions can significantly affect a person's quality of life and well-being. Previous research has investigated in what way and to what extent hearing problems have an impact on adults' health-related quality of life, which is a concept routinely used to inform the allocation of resources in health care. This study reviews and analyses the findings of previous research to identify aspects of quality of life that are important to people living with hearing conditions. We found that the affected areas of quality of life can be categorized into Physical, Mental, and Social aspects. Physical comprised of sound localization, sound clarity, speech, and physical fatigue. Social included relationships, isolation, communication, independence, work function, social stigma, and confidence. Mental comprised of depression, anxiety, listening effort, mental fatigue, fear, and identity. These findings will inform the development of hearing-specific questionnaire items to describe people's health-related quality of life. It's important to use qualitative research to inform the development of patient-reported outcome measures to ensure that areas that are most important to patients are included using wording that is understandable by the target participants.