TY - JOUR
T1 - Diurnal cortisol levels and subjective ratings of effort and fatigue in adult cochlear implant users
T2 - A pilot study
AU - Dwyer, Robert T.
AU - Gifford, René H.
AU - Bess, Fred H.
AU - Dorman, Michael
AU - Spahr, Anthony
AU - Hornsby, Benjamin W.Y.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grant DC011052, awarded to Anthony Spahr, which paid for the analysis of the saliva samples and participant remuneration. Portions of these data were presented at the American Auditory Society in Scottsdale, AZ, on March 6–8, 2014. The authors would like to thank the study participants for volunteering their time and effort to this research. The authors would also like to thank Blythe Corbett and Warren Lambert for their consultations regarding study design and statistical issues.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors.
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - Purpose: There is a growing body of literature that suggests a linkage between impaired auditory function, increased listening effort, and fatigue in children and adults with hearing loss. Research suggests this linkage may be associated with hearing loss–related variations in diurnal cortisol levels. Here, we examine variations in cortisol profiles between young adults with and without severe sensorineural hearing loss and examine associations between cortisol and subjective measures of listening effort and fatigue. Method: This study used a repeated-measures, matched-pair design. Two groups (n = 8 per group) of adults enrolled in audiology programs participated, 1 group of adults with hearing loss (AHL) and 1 matched control group without hearing loss. Salivary cortisol samples were collected at 7 time points over a 2-week period and used to quantify physiological stress. Subjective measures of listening effort, stress, and fatigue were also collected to investigate relationships between cortisol levels, perceived stress, and fatigue. Results: Subjective ratings revealed that AHL required significantly more effort and concentration on typical auditory tasks than the control group. Likewise, complaints of listening-related fatigue were more frequent and more of a problem in everyday life for AHL compared to the control group. There was a significant association between subjective ratings of listening effort and listening-related fatigue for our AHL, but not for the control group. In contrast, there was no significant difference in cortisol measures between groups, nor were there significant associations between cortisol and any subjective measure. Conclusions: Young AHL experience more effortful listening than their normal hearing peers. This increased effort is associated with increased reports of listening-related fatigue. However, diurnal cortisol profiles were not significantly different between groups nor were they associated with these perceived differences.
AB - Purpose: There is a growing body of literature that suggests a linkage between impaired auditory function, increased listening effort, and fatigue in children and adults with hearing loss. Research suggests this linkage may be associated with hearing loss–related variations in diurnal cortisol levels. Here, we examine variations in cortisol profiles between young adults with and without severe sensorineural hearing loss and examine associations between cortisol and subjective measures of listening effort and fatigue. Method: This study used a repeated-measures, matched-pair design. Two groups (n = 8 per group) of adults enrolled in audiology programs participated, 1 group of adults with hearing loss (AHL) and 1 matched control group without hearing loss. Salivary cortisol samples were collected at 7 time points over a 2-week period and used to quantify physiological stress. Subjective measures of listening effort, stress, and fatigue were also collected to investigate relationships between cortisol levels, perceived stress, and fatigue. Results: Subjective ratings revealed that AHL required significantly more effort and concentration on typical auditory tasks than the control group. Likewise, complaints of listening-related fatigue were more frequent and more of a problem in everyday life for AHL compared to the control group. There was a significant association between subjective ratings of listening effort and listening-related fatigue for our AHL, but not for the control group. In contrast, there was no significant difference in cortisol measures between groups, nor were there significant associations between cortisol and any subjective measure. Conclusions: Young AHL experience more effortful listening than their normal hearing peers. This increased effort is associated with increased reports of listening-related fatigue. However, diurnal cortisol profiles were not significantly different between groups nor were they associated with these perceived differences.
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U2 - 10.1044/2019_AJA-19-0009
DO - 10.1044/2019_AJA-19-0009
M3 - Article
C2 - 31430174
AN - SCOPUS:85072234043
SN - 1059-0889
VL - 28
SP - 686
EP - 696
JO - American journal of audiology
JF - American journal of audiology
IS - 3
ER -