Health Utility Scores of Hearing-Impaired Thais

Objective: To assess the health utility scores of Thais with hearing loss, which can be used as a reference value for assessing health-related quality of life and economic evaluations in any interventions among hearing-impaired persons in Thailand. Material and Methods: All hearing-impaired persons who visited Songklanagarind Hospital between January and June 2019 were recruited for the study. The demographic and clinical data of the participants including gender, age, and type and degree of hearing loss were collected. A health-related quality of life interview was conducted using the EuroQoL five-dimensional questionnaire, Thai version. Independent t-test and multiple linear regression analysis were performed to assess which factors were associated independently with the health utility scores. Results: One hundred and eleven participants, 46 males and 65 females, ranging in age from 22 to 92 years, were recruited for the study. The average health utility scores were 0.81 and 0.86 for subjects not using and using hearing aids, respectively, similar to the results from other nations. The average health utility score of subjects with underlying diseases (0.79) was lower than the average health utility score of subjects without underlying diseases (0.87) with statistical significance (p-value=0.038). Additionally, the pure tone average in the better ear was the only variable significantly associated with the health utility scores (regression coefficient: -0.004, p-value=0.002). Conclusion: The average health utility scores among hearing-impaired Thais were 0.81 and 0.86 for subjects not using and using hearing aids, respectively.