Perception of quality of life for adults with hearing impairment in the LGBT community.
The purpose of the this study was to examine the perception of both generic and disease-specific quality of life (QoL) in adults with hearing impairment who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Eighty-three adults who self-identified as having hearing impairment and as being members of the LGBT community and 80 adults with hearing impairment who do not self-identify as being members of the LGBT community (comparison group) participated in this study. The mean age of the participants in the LGBT group was 64.65 years, and the mean age for the comparison group was 63.26 years. Demographic information about the participants included: self-identification in the LGBT community, age, current and previous gender, relationship status, and hearing aid use. Participants received an audiometric evaluation and completed a disease-specific QoL instrument (Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly/Adults) and a generic QoL instrument (Short-Form 36 Health Survey). The results from this study indicate that factors such as gender, relationship status, and hearing aid use are related to the perception of QoL for individuals with hearing impairment who are members of the LGBT community. Differences were found between the participants in the LGBT group and the comparison group.


OBJECTIVE
After reading this article, readers should be able to: (1) describe the disease-specific QoL affects of hearing loss on members of the LGBT community compared with a group of adults with hearing impairment who are not members of the LGBT community, (2) describe the gender diffferences in perception of QoL for members of the LGBT community and participants not in the LGBT community, and (3) discuss clinical implications of the findings.
Department of Communication Disorders, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. Rebecca.kelly@canterbury.ac.nz
Rebecca J
RJ
Kelly-Campbell
Samuel R
SR
Atcherson
D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000523:psychology; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D063106:Transgender Persons / Q000523:psychology