Fatigue in children with hearing loss.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the Bases of Fatigue in Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss
IRAS ID
279350
Contact name
Ian Wiggins
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
Children with hearing loss have reported increased levels of fatigue in their daily lives. Interestingly, preliminary research has shown children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL; hearing loss in one ear only) also show similar levels of fatigue. This can affect many aspects of a child’s life. Children with UHL experience problems both academically and psychosocially, with research showing that students with UHL perform worse in speech language comprehension and have poorer academic performance compared to children who have normal hearing (NH). This potential rise in fatigue in children with UHL may account for the above problems.
This study aims to characterise the fatigue experienced by these children by conducting interviews with children with UHL and their parents/guardians. Separate interviews with children and their parents/guardians will explore the nature of fatigue, its impact, and if/how it changes during different daily activities. Currently, self-report questionnaires are the most widely used tool to measure fatigue, but these are dependent on a person’s state of mind. We are going to administer current-measures of fatigue and ask for feedback regarding their relevancy, as well as conducting an online study to compare results between questionnaires. We will also interview clinicians who manage children with UHL to explore the effect of fatigue on the clinical management of these children.
We will also monitor factors that could contribute to fatigue during fatiguing listening tasks (two hours max) or following normal day-to-date activities, such as school (up to two weeks in children with UHL, children with bilateral hearing loss (BHL; hearing loss in both ears) and children with NH. These factors could include head movements, heart rate or changes in acoustic environment. This will allow us to determine the underlying causes of fatigue and provide insight on possible future treatments to reduce fatigue in children with UHL.REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
20/WA/0233
Date of REC Opinion
14 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion