Medicina (Feb 2022)

Impact of Sensorineural Hearing Loss during the Pandemic of COVID-19 on the Appearance of Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety and Stress

  • Emilija M. Zivkovic Marinkov,
  • Natasa K. Rancic,
  • Dusan R. Milisavljevic,
  • Milan D. Stankovic,
  • Vuk D. Milosevic,
  • Marina M. Malobabic,
  • Irena N. Popovic,
  • Aleksandra M. Ignjatovic,
  • Mila R. Bojanovic,
  • Jasmina D. Stojanovic

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58020233
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 58, no. 2
p. 233

Abstract

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Background. The incidence of hearing loss is constantly increasing and according to the World Health Organization, by 2050, 900 million people will suffer from hearing loss. The main Objective of the study was to determine the differences between the severity of the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression in participants with varying degrees of sensorineural hearing loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional aim was to examine the extent and manner in which protective face masks impact the communication of people with hearing loss. Matrials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, which included 160 patients (81 men and 79 women) with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The patients’ age range was 50 to 80 years. Depending on the degree of hearing loss or pure-tone threshold, the participants were divided into four groups: mild hearing loss, moderate hearing loss, severe hearing loss and profound hearing loss. The research used the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and a questionnaire in which the participants reported whether surgical face masks (medical three-layer masks) worn by speakers makes communication difficult, to what extent and in what way. Results: The average age of the patients was 67.97 ± 8.16. A significant correlation was found between the degree of hearing loss and communication difficulties caused by the use of protective face masks (p p p = 0.024), anxiety (p = 0.026) and depression (p = 0.016). Conclusions: We have determined that face masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly hamper communication among the study groups (p = 0.007) and there is a significant correlation between the degree of sensorineural hearing loss and the presence of symptoms in all three DASS-21 subscales, meaning that the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression were more intense in severe and profound hearing loss.

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