MEASURING LEVELS OF STRESS AND DEPRESSION IN MOTHERS OF CHILDREN USING HEARING AIDS AND COCHLEAR IMPLANTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Hearing impairment is an exceptional circumstance that restricts the child's ability to communicate verbally. Depression is a common stress-related response for hearing parents of children with hearing loss. Evidence suggests that mothers are more inclined than fathers to experience depression in response to their child's hearing loss (Mavrolas, 1990; Meadow-Orleans, 1995; Prior, Glazner, Sanson & Debelle, 1988) and mothers with depression have been found to be less effective at nurturing language and psychosocial development in their children. The aim of the study was to compare the levels of stress and depression in mothers of children using hearing aids and children who had cochlear implants. 50 mothers of children with bilateral profound hearing loss were divided into two groups according to the rehabilitation option used. Two self reporting scales Parental Stress Index (PSI) & Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) duly translated into Telugu were used for the study. The results revealed that mothers in both the groups have high stress levels. On comparison the mothers of children who had cochlear implant obtained significantly higher scores than mothers of children using hearing aid on PSI. The results on CESD revealed high depression levels in both groups with no significant difference in the mean scores between groups. Hence, the present study highlights the need for the rehabilitative professionals to focus on family-based intervention for children with hearing impairment.