Objective: To understand the effect of age on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with hearing loss and determine how primary language mediates this relationship.
Study design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: General otolaryngology clinic in Los Angeles.
Methods: Demographics, medical records, and HRQoL data of adult patients presenting with otology symptoms were reviewed. HRQoL was measured using the Short-Form 6-Dimension utility index. All patients underwent audiological testing. A path analysis was performed to generate a moderated path analysis with HRQoL as the primary outcome.
Results: This study included 255 patients (mean age = 54 years; 55% female; 27.8% did not speak English as a primary language). Age had a positive direct association with HRQoL (p < .001). However, the direction of this association was reversed by hearing loss. Older patients exhibited significantly worse hearing (p < .001), which was negatively associated with HRQoL (p < .05). Primary language moderated the relationship between age and hearing loss. Specifically, patients who did not speak English as a primary language had significantly worse hearing (p < .001) and therefore worse HRQoL (p < .01) than patients who spoke English as a primary language with hearing loss. Increasing age was associated with bilateral hearing loss compared to unilateral hearing loss (p < .001) and subsequently lower HRQoL (p < .001). Polypharmacy (p < .01) and female gender (p < .01) were significantly associated with lower HRQoL.
Conclusion: Among otolaryngology patients with otology symptoms, older age and not speaking English as a primary language were associated with worse hearing and subsequently lower HRQoL.
Keywords: aging; health outcomes; health‐related quality of life; hearing loss; language; otology.
© 2023 The Authors. OTO Open published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.