A new $1.6 million study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will look to improve the quality of life for the deaf and hard of hearing.
The study, which is led by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), will use a new tool that can assess in American Sign Language (ASL) the health-related quality-of-life outcomes for hearing-impaired patients.
“This project will yield the largest, most representative quality-of-life data set on deaf and hard of hearing adults with early deafness,” said Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D., a health psychologist, research associate professor and director of the Deaf Health and Communication and Quality of Life Center in RIT’s Center for Imaging Science.
The data is “intended to lend new insights in patient outcomes research and improve prevention and treatment models for the underserved deaf and hard-of-hearing population,” according to a statement released by RIT.
Symptoms, well-being and life satisfaction will be evaluated through the assessments, which are being developed based on the standard Patient Reporting Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) typically used in clinical outcomes research.
PROMIS was modified to better understand the various experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in English and ALS by researchers at RIT, Northwestern University, University of Arkansas-Little Rock and Gallaudet University.
The sample includes 650 participants. Data will be available from assorted hearing-impaired subgroups, including by hearing level, language, gender, ethnicity, race and sexuality.
You Might Also Enjoy: New Device to Give Voice to the Hard of Hearing
Hearing Statistics
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) compiled statistics that show hearing ailments are widespread in the United States.
For example, two or three of every 1,000 children born nationally have a detectable hearing loss in one or both ears. Five of every six children experience ear infections by the age of three.
Hearing problems grow as people age, especially in men, who are more likely to report hearing loss.
About 13% of people 12 or older (30 million) have hearing loss.
In adults ages 45 to 54, about 2% have a disabling hearing loss. The figure increases to 8.5% for those 55 to 64, 25% for those 65 to 74 and 50% for those 75 and older.
About 26 million adults ages 20 to 69 have suffered high frequency hearing loss either because of exposure to work noise or through leisure activities.
Despite the availability of hearing aids, only about 30% of adults 70 and older with hearing loss have ever used them. Just 16% of adults aged 20 to 69 who could benefit from a hearing aid have worn one.
Moreover, Gallaudet University, which educates the deaf and hard of hearing, said that two to four of every 1,000 people in the United States are “functionally deaf.”
The university also said nine to 22 of every 1,000 people have a severe hearing impairment and, if you include everyone who has any level of hearing difficulty, that figure rises to “anywhere from 37 to 140 out of every 1,000 people.”
