Overview quality of life of deaf children in Government Special School II Banjarmasin

Abstract

Background: Hearing loss affects a person’s ability to communicate actively. In addition to social
barriers, non-interactive communication can affect a person’s emotional state. Early intervention at a
child’s age is very important to note. Purpose: To provide an overview of the quality of life (QoL) of deaf
children socially and emotionally, and to assess the use of hearing aids (HA) in their daily lives. Method:
Conducted using a cross-sectional method on 37 students aged 11-18 years, at the Government Special
School II Banjarmasin. The research media used was a Strength and Difficulties questionnaire. The data
was then processed using SPSS. Subjects were 19 male and 18 female, with the highest number being 13
years of age. Only 1 participant had anatomical abnormalities in the ear canal. All students had hearing
loss and did not know the cause of hearing loss. Result: As many as 50% of participants experienced
abnormalities in behaviour, 40% were borderline, and only 10% were normal. The relationship problems
in peer groups sub-scale experienced the most disruption. Almost all participants (97%) of the study did
not use their HA due to damaged (13%), or being left at home (65%). Conclusion: All children used
sign language as a way of communication, and never had speech therapy. Almost all deaf children had
behavioural disorders. Most participants (97%) did not wear their HA. This was one of the factors that
caused the quality of life of children with hearing impairment to decline.
Keywords: hearing loss, deaf, child, behavioural disorder, hearing aid, quality of life