Occupational performance: Comparing normally-hearing and hearing-impaired employees using the Amsterdam Checklist for Hearing and Work

Abstract

This study compares the occupational performance of employees with and without hearing impairment, and aims to identify occupational difficulties specifically related to hearing loss. The Amsterdam Checklist for Hearing and Work was administered to 150 hearing-impaired employees and 60 normally-hearing colleagues. A multivariate analysis of variance was performed to test group effects, and to examine differences between means. Factors predicting sick-leave were identified by regression analyses. A significant group effect (p < 0.01) was found. Hearing-impaired employees differed from normally-hearing colleagues in their perception of 'environmental noise', 'job control' and the 'necessity to use hearing activities' at work. Also, sick-leave due to distress occurred significantly more often in the hearing impaired group (p < 0.05). 'Hearing impairment', 'job demand', and the requirement to 'recognize/distinguish between sounds' were the strongest risk-factors for stress related sick-leave. The importance of hearing functions besides speech communication is discussed. Implications for rehabilitation are suggested. In future research, hearing loss should be considered as a risk factor for fatigue and mental distress which may lead to sick-leave.

The ICF core sets for hearing loss project: International expert survey on functioning and disability of adults with hearing loss using the international classification of functioning, disability, and health (ICF)

“…This is not surprising because people with hearing loss are established as a vulnerable group in the labour market with overrepresentation in early retirement (Danermark & Coniavitis Gellerstedt, 2004), increased emotional distress due to misinterpretation of external information at work (Morata et al, 2005) and experiencing lack of control in the work environment (Kramer et al, 2006). Threatening of the social bonds, as can occur when the interaction is interrupt by a hearing loss, may generate negative emotions (Scheff, 1990).…”

Subjective Fatigue in Children With Hearing Loss Assessed Using Self- and Parent-Proxy Report

“…To date, most research examining hearing loss and fatigue has focused on the adult population, and results suggest that adults with hearing loss may be at increased risk for fatigue-related issues (Alhanbali, Dawes, Lloyd, & Munro, 2017;Hornsby & Kipp, 2016;Kramer et al, 2006). Studies examining fatigue in children with hearing loss (CHL) are even more limited; however, growing empirical evidence suggests that CHL may also be at increased risk for fatigue Bess & Hornsby, 2014a;Hornsby, Werfel, Camarata, & Bess, 2014;Werfel & Hendricks, 2016).…”

“…However, for some individuals, especially those with disabilities and chronic health conditions, fatigue can be more frequent and severe. This type of fatigue can have a broad, profound impact on quality of life (Dinges et al, 1997;Eddy & Cruz, 2007;Evans & Wickstrom, 1999;Flechtner & Bottomley, 2003;Gaba & Howard, 2002;HockenberryEaton et al, 1999;Kramer, Kapteyn, & Houtgast, 2006;Van Dongen & Dinges, 2000).…”

Neural and Cognitive Effects of Hearing Loss on Speech Processing

“…However, in situations where the speech of interest is disturbed by background noise, the intelligibility decreases drastically when suffering from a hearing loss, despite providing adequate hearing-loss compensation (Festen and Plomp, 1990). Indeed, as hearing-aid amplification cannot restore normal hearing, hearing-aid users often report being more tired because of their impaired hearing (Kramer et al, 2006).…”

“…We do not often consider the complex processing steps required for successfully understanding sensory auditory inputs. However, for people suffering from a hearing loss, verbal communication in a noisy situation is described as being effortful and cause fatigue (Larsby et al, 2005;Kramer et al, 2006). The concepts of effort and fatigue has been related to the higher-order cognitive processing of speech required to infer meaning to it (Rönnberg et al, 2008).…”