Investigating the Sexual Quality of Life of Deaf and Hard-ofHearing Married Women: A Cross-sectional Study

Hearing impairment is a vital health issue and harms people’s lives. This study aimed to examine the sexual quality of life (QoL) of deaf and hard-of-hearing married women living in Mazandaran Province, Sari City, Iran. 

The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 132 deaf and hard-of-hearing women referred to the Deaf Center in Mazandaran Province, Sari City, Iran, in 2021. Sampling was done using the convenience method among all married women with hearing impairment referred to that center from July to November 2021. Information was collected with demographic form and Simonds’ sexual quality of life questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed with t test and analysis of variance. The significance level was considered 0.05 in all tests. 

 The Mean age of the participants in this study was 36.45±7.17 years, and their Mean score of the quality of sexual life was 16.67±83.86. In this study, a significant relationship was observed between the sexual QoL of the participants and their participation in the reproductive health virtual groups. No significant relationship was observed with other variables, such as education, wife’s education, husband’s hearing status, participant’s hearing status, use of hearing aids, number of pregnancies, type of delivery, and history of abortion. 

According to the results of this study, appropriate methods should be used, including peer-based training and sign language interpreters in sexual health issues.