Hearing Impairment, Tinnitus, Mental Health and Vocational Coping. A Randomized, Controlled Study of a Cognitive Therapy Program to Reduce Social Safety Seeking.

Although the relationship between hearing loss and mental distress is not linear, it is known that hearing impaired individuals have increased vulnerability for development of symptoms of distress and fatigue. It is assumed that distressed hearing impaired individuals will have a tendency to use maladaptive and passive coping strategies, such as social withdrawal or reluctance to make use of hearing aid devices. On the other side, it is well documented that hearing impaired employers who are open about their handicap and make others aware of their situation, i.e. take an active coping approach, have fewer symptoms of distress and have better vocational functioning. The level of knowledge is limited and mainly based on cross sectional studies, and the way people cope with hearing impairment has been measured indirectly by questionnaires focusing on communication problems. We plan to conduct a randomized controlled study with hearing impaired workers, who have voluntarily signed up for an 8 session cognitive therapy (CBT) course The CBT intervention will be compared to a waiting list control group. Participants who are allocated to the intervention group will be offered to start on the CBT-course immediately, while the control group that will be offered the same course 12 months later. Main outcome measures are assessments of mental distress and vocational coping. We will also assess the distress associated with tinnitus, which is a potential moderator variable.