Quality of life for Preschool Children Suffering from Hearing Impairment in Rural Area

Abstract

Hearing is the most essential perceptive sense for individual development, especially during childhood, contributing to a child’s ability to interact with other people. Its deprivation can have serious consequences on various aspects, such as speech and language acquisition and pre-reading skills (Soares et al., 2014). As hearing impairment is one of the most common birth defects, early diagnosis of the child’s hearing impairment can allow the monitoring of possible complications and can indicate which therapy is the most suitable and effective. It also allows for more accurate genetic counseling for parents who want to have more children (Parker et al., 2015). The World Health Organization defines quality of life (QOL) as individuals’ perception of their position in life in the context of culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. The definition encompasses six domains of quality of life including a physical domain, psychological domain, level of independence, social relationships, environment, and spirituality/ religion/ personal beliefs (Ziadman-Zait et al., 2016). Aim of the Study This study aimed to assess quality of life for Preschool Children Suffering from hearing Impairment through:- 1- Assessing the mother knowledge about hearing impairment and its effect on the quality of life. 2- Assessing health status of the preschool children with hearing impairment.