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,...

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Audiologists fitting and following up adolescents with prelingual hearing loss should routinely screen for listening-related fatigue, as device use and functional listening demands appear to significantly influence its severity.

Listening fatigue in prelingually deaf adolescents is an underrecognized burden that may affect school performance and quality of life, and understanding its drivers can guide rehabilitation counseling and device management.

1. 01Adolescents with prelingual deafness using hearing devices report meaningful levels of listening-related fatigue.
2. 02Demographic, audiological, and functional factors were all examined as predictors of fatigue severity.
3. 03Findings could inform counseling about realistic listening effort demands in educational settings.
4. 04Long-term device experience is a key variable, suggesting fatigue may change over years of device use.
5. 05Study contributes to the growing literature on hearing effort and fatigue beyond speech intelligibility metrics.

PMID

42600136

DOI

10.1177/23312165261469264.

Journal

Trends in Hearing

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

2b

Population

Adolescents with prelingual deafness and long-term hearing device experience

Intervention

Assessment of listening-related fatigue and associated demographic, audiological, and functional factors