Understanding the links between hearing impairment and dementia: development and validation of the Social and Emotional Impact of Hearing Impairment (SEI-HI) questionnaire.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The links between hearing impairment (HI) and dementia have been well documented, but factors mediating this relationship remain unknown. Major consequences of HI are social and emotional dysfunction, and as the risk of dementia increases linearly with the severity of HI, it is plausible that socio-emotional difficulties may play a role in this association.

Objective

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a tool to analyse levels of hearing-related disability, to investigate ultimately whether subjective disability contributes to risk of cognitive impairment compared with hearing thresholds alone.

Methods

Development and validation of the questionnaire, the Social and Emotional Impact of Hearing Impairment (SEI-HI), was conducted in four phases:

SUBMITTER: Littlejohn J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7655555 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature