Associations between parental hearing impairment and children's mental health: Results from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

Background: Some previous studies indicate that parental hearing loss may have negative consequences in the parent-child relationship. However, most of these studies are qualitative or have apparent methodological shortcomings.

Objective: This study is the first of its kind conducted in a large population-based sample with audiometrically measured hearing loss aimed at investigating the extent to which parental hearing loss affects adolescents' mental health.

Methods: Questionnaires were administered to the adult (>19 years) and adolescent (age 13-19 years) population of Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway (1995-97), which collected information on mental and somatic health, including hearing loss. For adults participating in the study, pure tone audiometry tests were also administered. In total, 4047 fathers and 4785 mothers with self-reported hearing loss data were identified. The corresponding numbers with measured hearing loss data included 4079 fathers and 4861 mothers. The associations between the degrees of self-reported or measured parental hearing loss and the mental health of their adolescent, measured by Hopkins Symptom Check List (SCL) 5, were estimated using generalized estimating equations. After adjusting for several covariates, the mental health symptoms of adolescents were compared by parental hearing loss (i.e., with versus without hearing loss).

Results: Adolescents whose mothers had severe measured or self-reported hearing loss had significantly worse mental health than their counterparts whose mothers did not have a hearing loss. No corresponding effects were found in the adolescents whose mothers had only a slight/moderate hearing loss, neither measured nor self-reported. Paternal slight/moderate self-reported hearing loss was associated with a small significant reduction of mental health in the adolescents, although attenuated when adjusting for paternal distress. No significant effects were detected in the adolescents whose fathers had measured hearing loss.

Conclusion: Severe maternal hearing loss is associated with significantly increased adolescent distress.