Listening-Related Fatigue in Adolescents With Prelingual Deafness and Device Experience

This study evaluated listening-related fatigue among adolescents with prelingual hearing loss (HL) and long-term device use; and examined demographic, audiological, and functional factors associated with increased fatigue. A total of 271 16–19-yr-old adolescents fitted with their first hearing device by 3 years of age, and their parents completed the self- and parent-report versions of the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale, respectively. Of these, 53.9% (n=136) used hearing aids (HA), 46.0% (n=116) used at least one cochlear implant (CI), <2% (n=4) used bone conduction (BC) devices, and 7% (n=15) were unaided. Group mean fatigue scores of adolescents were within one standard deviation of the normative mean. Yet, scores of 24.5–50.5% of HA and CI users showed clinically significant fatigue. BC users showed no indications of high fatigue. Among HA and CI users, limited associations were evident between fatigue and audiological factors such as device type, hearing level, or age at first device fit. Greater fatigue reported by adolescents and parents was associated with female gender, greater communication difficulties, and more symptoms of anxiety and depression. The gender effect was no longer significant after accounting for communication and mental well-being. In CI users, greater parent-reported fatigue was associated with more frequent use of school accommodations. In HA users, better expressive language was associated with lower self-reported fatigue. Overall, listening-related fatigue appears to be a concern in adolescents with early-onset HL despite early intervention and long-term device use. Communication and well-being factors appear more informative than audiological variables for addressing fatigue in this group.