Perceived Hearing Handicap and Social Isolation Among Elderly with Hearing Impairment Attending Zagazig University Hospitals - Nursing & Care

The ability to interact with others, and perceive dangers depends momentously on the capacity to hear. Lack of social networking has detrimental influences on older adults’ health in a complex dynamic manner. Hereafter, the current study aimed to assess self-perceived hearing handicap and social isolation among the elderly with hearing impairment. Subsequently, a cross-sectional descriptive research design was opted, where the study enrolled a purposive sample of 130 elderly attending the auditory unit at Zagazig University Hospitals, Egypt. The data collected pertained to demographic and hearing characteristics, Lubben Social Network Scale-revised [LSNS-R], and Hearing Handicap Inventory Elderly-Screening version [HHIE-S]. Data analysis results revealed that 80.8% reported low self- perceived hearing handicap and 77.7% experienced low social networking. Taken as a whole, LSNS-R and HHIE-S were significantly related to hearing impairment level. Henceforth, early picking up of socially isolated elderly and developing effective interventions to reduce it is of the utmost importance.

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