Date

11-13-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Patrick Slowinski

Keywords

hearing loss (HL), listening-related fatigue (LrF), adults with hearing loss (AHL), cognitive, social, emotional, physical, quantitative methods

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Adults with hearing loss (AHL) frequently report high levels of listening-related fatigue (LrF). This has mainly been attributed to the increased biopsychosocial demands involved in communication efforts for those with hearing loss (HL). Such fatigue can be measured objectively using the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults (VFS-A-40) (Hornsby et al., 2021a). This quantitative survey study explored the relationships among gender, type of HL, and socioeconomic status (SES) and their complex connections among the four domains as defined by the VFS-A-40: cognitive, emotional, social, and physical. Using an online survey method, this research employed a strictly quantitative design to examine differences in LrF among U.S. adults aged 30–50 years with HL, focusing on the four aforementioned domains. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 166 AHL participants within this age range, excluding those with tinnitus, substance dependence, neurological or psychiatric diagnoses, or who had received treatments affecting cognitive function, as well as individuals with cochlear implants. Results indicate a significant presence of LrF in any random sample of adults with HL. Regression analyses show meaningful links between both gender (p < 0.001) and type of HL (p = 0.005) and levels of LrF in adults aged 30–50 years. Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients suggest that LrF and its related subscales form a single, unidimensional construct. These findings underscore the interconnected nature of LrF and highlight its important implications for quality of life (QoL), well-being, and fatigue management in AHL.

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