Daily-Life Fatigue Among Adolescents Who Are Hard of Hearing: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

In contrast to expectations, mean fatigue in our sample of adolescents who are hard of hearing was not greater than that reported by our sample of adolescents with typical hearing. This may simply reflect our limited sample size and the wide variability of fatigue in those with hearing loss. In addition, within our sample, fatigue effects may have been moderated by hearing aid use, particularly for those adolescents with less hearing loss. The findings from this study support the idea that hearing aid use may reduce fatigue in adolescents; however, important questions remain regarding the degree to which fatigue is listening-related or whether hearing aid use is simply more likely during fatiguing activities. This study also demonstrates that ecological momentary assessment can quantify the effects of hearing loss and hearing aid use on fatigue in daily life among adolescents.