A comparative study on the general health of the mothers of children with cochlear implant, hearing aid, and normal hearing

Abstract

Background and Aim: The general health of  the mothers of children using hearing aids is highly important, and can affect their children’s progress in hearing rehabilitation programs. This study aimed to compare the general health of  the mothers of children using cochlear implants (CIs), mothers of children using hearing aids (HAs), and mothers with normal hearing (NH) children.

Methods: In this descriptive-comparative study conducted on the mothers of children using CIs (n = 19), HAs (n = 19), and NH (n = 15). Their general health was measured by the 28-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) in four areas of physical symptoms, anxiety symptom, social dysfunction symptom, and depression symptom.

Results: The general health of the mothers of children using CIs was significantly higher than that of the mothers with children using HAs  (p = 0.02), while it was lower than that of the mothers with NH children, but it was not statis­tically significant (p = 0.5).

Conclusion: Mothers of children using CI chil­dren have higher general health than the mothers with children using HA, and its level was close to that of the mothers with NH children. Cochlear implantation and consequently improved comm­unication is effective in improving the general health of the hearing-impaired children’s moth­ers.

Keywords: Hearing aid; cochlear implant; general health questionnaire; mothers