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ERIC Number: ED580896
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-May
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Salivary Cortisol Profiles of Children with Hearing Loss
Bess, Fred H.; Gustafson, Samantha J.; Corbett, Blythe A.; Lambert, E. Warren; Camarata, Stephen M.; Hornsby, Benjamin W. Y.
Grantee Submission
Objectives: It has long been speculated that effortful listening places children with hearing loss at risk for fatigue. School-age children with hearing loss experiencing cumulative stress and listening fatigue on a daily basis might undergo dysregulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity resulting in elevated or flattened cortisol profiles. The purpose of this study was to examine whether school-age children with hearing loss show different diurnal salivary cortisol patterns than children with normal hearing. Design: Participants included 32 children with mild to moderate hearing loss (14 males; 18 females) and 28 children with normal hearing (19 males; 9 females) ranging in age from six to twelve years. Saliva samples were obtained six times per day on two separate school days. Cortisol levels were measured by mass spectrometric detection after liquid-liquid extraction. Salivary cortisol levels between children with hearing loss and children with no hearing loss over the course of the day were examined with Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) using mixed-model statistical analysis. Between-group comparisons were also computed for the area under the curve (AUC), an analytical approach for calculating overall cortisol secretion throughout the day. Results: Significant differences in the cortisol awakening response (CAR) were observed between children with hearing loss and children with normal hearing; however, no differences were observed between the two groups subsequent to the CAR (60-minutes post-awakening, 10:00 am, 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm). Compared to children with normal hearing, children with hearing loss displayed elevated cortisol levels at awakening and a reduced growth in cortisol secretion from awakening to 30-minutes post-awakening. No significant differences in overall cortisol secretion throughout the day were found between groups (area under the curve). Finally, cortisol levels increased with increasing age for children with hearing loss but not for children with normal hearing. Conclusions: Results of this preliminary study indicate a possible dysregulation in HPA axis activity in children with hearing loss characterized by elevated salivary cortisol levels at awakening and a diminished increase in cortisol from awakening to 30- minutes post-awakening. The pattern of elevated cortisol levels at awakening is consistent with some studies on adults with burnout, a condition characterized by fatigue, loss of energy and poor coping skills. These findings are consistent with the idea that children with hearing loss may experience increased vigilance and need to mobilize energy promptly in preparation for the new day. [This study was published in "Ear and Hearing," v37 n3 p334-344 May 2016.]
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH); Institute of Education Sciences (ED); National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) (DHHS/NIH); Dan and Margaret Maddox Charitable Fund
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Tennessee
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals; Test of Nonverbal Intelligence
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R324A110266; P30HD15052; UL1TR000445
Author Affiliations: N/A