title: Anxiety in children with hearing aids or cochlear implants compared to normally hearing controls.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of this study were to examine the levels of anxiety in hearing-impaired children with hearing aids or cochlear implants compared to normally hearing children, and to identify individual variables that were associated with differences in the level of anxiety.
  
  
  METHODS
  Large retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-reports and parent-reports concerning general anxiety, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder were used. The study group (mean age, 11.8 years) consisted of three age-matched subgroups: 32 children with cochlear implants, 51 children with conventional hearing aids, and 127 children without hearing loss.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Levels of anxiety in children with cochlear implants and normally hearing children were similar. Early implantation was associated with lower levels of general and social anxiety. Remarkably, children with conventional hearing aids had higher levels of social anxiety, and their parents also reported more generalized anxiety disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The outcomes demonstrate that in their level of anxiety, children with cochlear implants might be more comparable to normally hearing children than to children with hearing aids. This positive finding can be the consequence of audiological factors or other aspects of the cochlear implant rehabilitation program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. s.c.p.m.theunissen@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Stephanie C P M
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Theunissen
authors.forename: Carolien
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rieffe
authors.forename: Maartje
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kouwenberg
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Raeve
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Soede
authors.forename: Jeroen J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Briaire
authors.forename: Johan H M
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Frijns
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D001299:Audiometry; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003054:Cochlear Implants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000523:psychology*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors