Listener Fatigue and Emotional Health in Children with Hearing Loss

Research studies and anecdotal reports from caregivers indicate that children with hearing loss experience significant levels of fatigue due to speech processing demands required for listening. The purpose of this correlational study is to determine if a relationship exists between listener fatigue and emotional health in school-age children with mild-to-profound hearing loss. Participants will include 75 children between the ages 5-12 years, who consistently use hearing technology, and their caregivers. Each student will complete the Pediatric Quality of Life: Multidimensional Fatigue Scale to determine levels of fatigue. Caregivers will complete the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment: Social-Emotional Learning to assess emotional health of students. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) will be computed to examine the relationship between listener fatigue and emotional health. It is predicted that there will be a negative relationship between listener fatigue and emotional health in that children with less fatigue will display better emotional health.