Effects of a Cognitive Behavioral Self-help Program on Emotional Problems for People With Acquired Hearing Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of the study was to examine whether a cognitive-behavioral self-help program was effective in improving depressed mood and anxiety in people with acquired deafness. Participants were 45 persons with acquired deafness, randomly allocated to the Cognitive-Behavioral Self-help (CBS) group or the Waiting List Control (WLC) group. Depression and anxiety scores were assessed at three measurement moments: at pretest, immediately after completion of the intervention (posttest), and again 2 months later (follow-up). To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, repeated measures analyses of covariance were performed. The results showed that depression and anxiety symptoms in the CBS group significantly improved after completion of the program, compared to the WLC group. There was no relapse from posttest to follow-up. It was concluded that a cognitive-behavioral self-help intervention could be an effective tool to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in people with acquired deafness.