“Listening is exhausting!” Anecdotal reports like this are common and highlight an important, but understudied, consequence of hearing loss. One factor limiting our understanding of this problem is the lack of a valid and reliable measure of listening-related fatigue. This presentation will introduce the construct of listening-related fatigue- its importance for adults and children with hearing loss, definitions, prevalence, consequences and potential linkage to increased listening effort in persons with hearing loss. In addition, the development and validation of a new package of tools, the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale (VFS), which has been designed to quantify listening-related fatigue in adults and children with hearing loss, and other disabilities, will be described. Finally, data from ongoing validation studies of the VFS will be used to explore the impact of various factors- e.g., degree of loss, unilateral versus bilateral losses, device type and usage, etc.- on listening-related fatigue.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define the construct of fatigue and listening-related fatigue, and
2. Discuss its potential impact on adults and children with hearing loss, and
3. Describe the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale and its potential use for quantifying listening-related fatigue in adults and children with hearing loss and other disabilities