Perceived Hearing Handicap and Social Isolation Among Elderly with Hearing Impairment Attending Zagazig University Hospitals

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.

Keywords: Perceived; Hearing handicap; Social isolation; Elderly; Hearing impairment; Zagazig university hospitals