Objectives: To compare the quality of life (QoL) of children with hearing loss (HL) and children with normal hearing (NH) and to examine how the QoL of children with HL changes over time,... Show moreObjectives: To compare the quality of life (QoL) of children with hearing loss (HL) and children with normal hearing (NH) and to examine how the QoL of children with HL changes over time, considering language skills, type of hearing device, degree of HL, and type of education.Methods and materials: This longitudinal study included 62 children with HL and their parents. Developmental outcome data were collected at two time points, when the mean ages of the children were 4 and 11 years. The Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL (TM)) questionnaire, which includes assessments of Physical, Emotional, Social, and School functioning, was completed by parents at both time points and by the children with HL at the second time point. Receptive and expressive language skills at 4 years were assessed by the Reynell Developmental Language Scale. Results were compared with a Dutch normative sample.Results: The QoL of children with HL was similar to that of children with NH at both time points on two of the four QoL scales, Emotional and Physical functioning. On the other two scales, Social and School functioning, children with HL who attended special education and children who switched to mainstream education showed lower scores than children with HL who were consistently in mainstream education and lower scores than children with NH. The School QoL of children with HL decreased over time, as did the School QoL of children with NH. Social QoL of children with cochlear implants decreased over time, but this was not the case in children with hearing aids. Language skills and the degree of HL did not clinically improve the QoL over time of preschool children with HL.Conclusions: The QoL of children with HL in mainstream education and the Physical and Emotional QoL of all children with HL were satisfactory. It is essential to develop specific guidance regarding school activities for children with HL in special education and for children with HL who switch to mainstream education in order to increase their social QoL. Show less
Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language... Show moreObjective The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language and various hearing loss characteristics on the development of empathy. Methods The study group (mean age 11.9 years) consisted of 122 deaf and hard of hearing children (52 children with cochlear implants and 70 children with conventional hearing aids) and 162 normal hearing children. The two groups were compared using self-reports, a parent-report and observation tasks to rate the children’s level of empathy, their attendance to others’ emotions, emotion recognition, and supportive behavior. Results Deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than normal hearing children, regardless of their type of hearing device. The level of emotion recognition was equal in both groups. During observations, deaf and hard of hearing children showed more attention to the emotion evoking events but less supportive behavior compared to their normal hearing peers. Deaf and hard of hearing children attending mainstream education or using oral language show higher levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than deaf and hard of hearing children who use sign (supported) language or attend special education. However, they are still outperformed by normal hearing children. Conclusions Deaf and hard of hearing children, especially those in special education, show lower levels of empathy than normal hearing children, which can have consequences for initiating and maintaining relationships. Show less
