A systematic review of health-related quality of life and hearing aids: final report of the American Academy of Audiology Task Force On the Health-Related Quality of Life Benefits of Amplification in Adults

Abstract

This is the final report of the American Academy of Audiology Task Force on the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Benefits of Amplification in Adults. A systematic review with meta-analysis examined evidence pertaining to the use of hearing aids for improving HRQoL for adults with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Relevant search strings applied to the CENTRAL, CINAHL, Cochrane Reviews, ComDisDome, EBMR, and PubMed databases identified randomized controlled trial, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental pre-post test designed studies. Sixteen studies met a priori criteria for inclusion in this review. A random-effects meta-analysis showed differential results for generic versus disease-specific HRQoL measures for within- and between-subject designs. Although generic measures used for within-subject designs did not demonstrate HRQoL benefits from hearing aids, mean effect sizes and confidence intervals for within-subject designs and disease-specific instruments suggested that hearing aids have a small-to-medium impact on HRQoL. Further, the between-subject studies supported at least a small effect for generic measures, and when measured by disease-specific instruments, hearing aids had medium-to-large effects on adults' HRQoL. This review concludes that hearing aids improve adults' HRQoL by reducing psychological, social, and emotional effects of SNHL. Future studies should include control groups using randomized controlled trials.