Assessment of the quality of life of care providers of hearing-impaired elderly : influence of the use of a hearing aids

A deficiência auditiva em idosos gera incapacidade, tornando necessária à presença do cuidador. Avaliar a qualidade de vida de cuidadores de idosos com deficiência auditiva e identificar a contribuição do uso da prótese auditiva na qualidade de vida dos cuidadores de idosos usuários e não usuários. Entrevistaram-se 30 cuidadores, divididos em dois grupos. O primeiro foi composto por 10 cuidadores de idosos usuários de prótese auditiva e o segundo por 20 cuidadores de idosos não usuários de prótese auditiva. Para a avaliação foram utilizados entrevista e o questionário abreviado de avaliação de qualidade de vida da Organização Mundial da Saúde, o WHOQOL-bref. A amostra foi composta predominantemente por cuidadores do sexo feminino (80%), com média de idade de 58,5±13,07 anos. Entre eles, 96,5% eram familiares dos idosos, com mediana do tempo de atuação de seis anos. Em relação à qualidade de vida, verificou-se que estava menos comprometida no grupo de cuidadores de idosos usuários de próteses auditivas, especialmente no domínio social. Foi encontrada correlação entre a idade dos cuidadores e o domínio psicológico e entre o número de medicamentos que o cuidador utilizava e o domínio físico do WHOQOL-bref. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que a qualidade de vida dos cuidadores de idosos com deficiência auditiva é afetada. O uso de prótese auditiva pelos idosos, porém, parece contribuir para a qualidade de vida dos cuidadores, pois os escores deste grupo foram superiores aos do grupo responsável por idosos não usuários do dispositivo.Hearing impairment in the elderly causes incapacity to advise to need of a care provider. To assess the quality of life of care providers of hearing disabled elders and identify the role-played by the use of hearing aids in the quality of life of care providers of elders who use or do not use hearing aids. Thirty care providers were interviewed, divided in two groups considering the use or non-use of hearing aids by the elderly. The first group comprised 10 care providers of elders who used hearing aids, and the second group comprised 20 care providers of elders who did not use. An interview and a questionnaire to assess quality of life, from the World Health Organization, the WHOQOL-bref, were used for the assessment. The sample was predominantly by female care providers (80%), with average age of 58.5±13.07 years. By the total, 96.5% were family members of the elder individuals. Regarding quality of life, it was noticed that it was less compromised in care providers of elders who used hearing aids, mainly in the social domain. It was found a correlation between the age of the care providers and the psychological domain, and between the number of drugs used by the care provider and the physical domain of the WHOQOL-bref. The results suggest that quality of life of care providers of hearing impaired elders is affected. The usage of hearing aids by the elders seems to provide for the care providers’ quality of life

Tinnitus in elderly individuals : discomfort and impact in the quality of life

Introduction Tinnitus is a symptom that affects mainly the elderly and can negatively influence their quality of life. Objective The objective of our study is to evaluate the existence of a relationship between the quality of life and the impact caused by tinnitus in elderly individuals, considering the age and gender variables. Method We conducted a cross-sectional study in elderly people of both genders who participate in the extension activities at the university. The evaluation was composed of anamnesis and WHOQOL-OLD instruments, to evaluate the quality of life, and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) for the evaluation of the tinnitus impact. Result We evaluated 36 elderly individuals with an average age of 68.6 6.8 years old, 72.2 % of them were women. We verified that most of the subjects classified their tinnitus as weak (44.4%) ormedium (36.1%). The score average in the THI was 20 points, with predominant classification of tinnitus impact as negligible (41.7%) or mild (30.6%). In the WHOQOL-OLD, the average score was 15.6 1.6 points (total score). The negative correlation between the THI score and the WHOQOL-OLD score was found in the sensory domain operation and total score. Conclusion The results obtained in the study prove that the quality of life of the elderly individuals evaluated is related to a discomfort caused by the tinnitus

Erratum to: Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition) (Autophagy, 12, 1, 1-222, 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

non present