Health-related quality of life of hearing impaired adolescents in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adolescents with hearing impairment (HI) in Hong Kong. Data were collected from 39 adolescents with HI and 284 adolescents with normal hearing (NH) studying in local mainstream secondary schools. Their ratings on the Chinese version of Kiddo-KINDL questionnaire were compared to those with HI attending a special school in Ma (2010)’s study. The results showed that adolescents with HI in mainstream schools and special school rated their overall HRQoL similarly to their hearing peers. However, adolescents in special school reported significantly poorer emotional well-being than those with HI in mainstream schools and significantly poorer family relationships than the other two groups. The low ratings are probably related to their small social circle and parental restrictions on their social lives. More activities are suggested to be held for adolescents with HI to increase their social contacts with the community. Also, parents are recommended to spend more time communicating with adolescents with HI to understand their needs.