The lived experiences and psychosocial impact of hearing loss on the quality of life of adults with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis.
Amanda B Thusi, Jessica Paken
PMID 35261255WHAT IT FOUND
Ten adults with MDR-TB and ototoxic hearing loss described fear, shame, and hopelessness.
They lost jobs and social roles. Most received no counselling on hearing loss risks or rehabilitation options, leaving them overwhelmed by the dual diagnosis.
Key findings
01Participants reported initial reactions of fear, shock, and self-blame for the hearing loss, often attributing it to previous TB treatment default.
02Most participants felt overwhelmed because they had not received explanations of their diagnosis, the cause of their hearing loss, or rehabilitation outcomes.
03Hearing loss contributed to unemployment and financial instability, with participants citing communication difficulties and loss of confidence as barriers to work.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only ten participants, all from a single hospital site in Johannesburg, limiting the transferability of the findings. All participants were black African and unemployed, which may not reflect the experiences of other demographic or socioeconomic groups. The data relies on self-reported experiences and does not include objective measures of hearing loss severity or quality of life. The study design cannot establish causality between the hearing loss and the psychosocial outcomes, only association.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that specific interventions improve quality of life in this population. The study describes the experiences of ten individuals and identifies gaps in care, but it does not test any treatment or rehabilitation programme.