Table 4.
Comparison of pre- and postoperative disease-specific QOL and generic QOL stratified by gender, type of hearing loss, and psychological comorbidity
| NCIQ | WHOQOL-BREF | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preoperative | Postoperative | Preoperative | postoperative | |
| Gender | ||||
| Male (n = 35) | 49.8 ± 13.1 | 64.2 ± 12.9 *** | 68.6 ± 10.5 | 66.9 ± 13.46 |
| Female (n = 44) | 50.3 ± 15.1 | 69.7 ± 13.7 *** | 69.0 ± 14.2 | 69.6 ± 15.3 |
| Age | ||||
| < 65 years (n = 49) | 51.1 ± 14.8 | 70.0 ± 13.3*** | 68.8 ± 14.5 | 68.3 ± 16.8 |
| ≥ 65 years (n = 30) | 48.5 ± 12.9 | 62.7 ± 12.7*** ##a | 68.8 ± 8.7 | 68.6 ± 9.9 |
| Kind of hearing loss | ||||
| SSD (n = 17) | 59.9 ± 11.2##b | 74.4 ± 12.7*** | 71.7 ± 7.5 | 75.0 ± 16.0 * |
| AHL (n = 17) | 51.7 ± 12.1 | 65.0 ± 12.6 *** | 66.8 ± 10.5 | 64.0 ± 13.2 |
| Bilateral hearing loss (n = 45) | 46.2 ± 14.2##b | 65.6 ± 13.6 *** | 68.5 ± 11.2 | 67.6 ± 13.9 |
| Depressiveness | ||||
| Non-elevated symptoms1 (n = 42) | 53.9 14.1 | 71.7 11.6 *** | 74.7 ± 10.2 | 74.0 ± 13.5 |
| Elevated symptoms2 (n = 37) | 45.8 13.0#c | 62.0 13.8 *** ###c | 62.2 ± 11.8 ###c | 62.1 ± 13.1 ###c |
| Stress Stress | ||||
| Non-elevated stress level 3 (n = 54) | 53.3 ± 14.0 | 70.8 ± 11.7 *** | 72.3 ± 10.8 | 72.2 ± 12.8 |
| Elevated stress level 4 (n = 25) | 43.1 ± 11.8 ##d | 59.2 ± 13.9 *** ###d | 61.3 ± 13.0 ###d | 60.1 ± 14.7 ###d |
AHL asymmetric hearing loss (defined as an interaural asymmetry of more than 30 dB, whereas the better hearing ear has less or equal to 60 dB HL and more than 30 dB HL at one or more frequencies across the pure tone average)
SSD single sided deafness (unilateral deafness and contralateral normal hearing with a pure tone average less or equal to 30 dB HL)
1PHQ 9 < 5, 2PHQ 9 ≥ 5, 3PHQ stress module < 5, 4PHQ stress module ≥ 5
***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05 (preoperative versus postoperative)
##ap < 0.001 significant difference between age groups
## bp < 0.001 significant difference between bilateral hearing loss group and SSD group
#cp < 0.05, ###cp < 0.001 significant difference between patient with and without elevated depressive symptoms
##dp < 0.01, ###cp < 0.001 significant difference between patient with and without elevated stress level