Evaluation of Parental Stress and Quality of Life Among Iranian Parents of Hearing-Impaired Children with Cochlear Implantation History: A Cross-Sectional and Descriptive-Correlational Study

 Hearing impairment (HI), as the most prevalent sensorineural impairment, can affect both children and their families' quality of life (QOL) by its remarkable consequences, like parental stress (PS). It is a type of stress that parents perceive following their parent-child interactions, alongside the children's mental, physical, or developmental disturbances.

 Considering the significant catastrophic consequences of HI in both children and their families' QOL, the current cross-sectional and descriptive-correlational study was conducted to investigate the relationship between PS and QOL among Iranian parents of hearing-impaired children with cochlear implantation (CI) history.

 A total of 80 parents of HI children with CI history participated in the current cross-sectional and descriptive-correlational study based on the inclusion criteria and simple random sampling. Therefore, their PS and QOL were evaluated using the "Questionnaire of Clinical and Demographic Information", the "Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition Short Form (PSI-4-SF)," and the "36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36)." Eventually, SPSS version 26 was utilized to analyze the obtained data.

 Most of the 80 participants were female (85.0%), housewives (58.8%), and had bachelor's degrees (35.0%). Moreover, PS and QOL in parents of HI children with CI history were relatively low (�- = 67.42, P < 0.05) and relatively satisfactory (�- = 70.12, P < 0.05) respectively. Eventually, there was a significant (P = 0.001) and inverse correlation (r = -0.811) between PS and QOL in parents of HI children with CI history.

 The level of PS in the parents of HI children with CI history had a strong and inverse correlation with their QOL. Also, at the time of the study, the stress level of the parents was relatively low, and their QOL was reported to be relatively satisfactory. Thus, examining the factors affecting PS and QOL will be effective in achieving permanent, stable outcomes.