title: Validity of self-reported hearing loss in adults: performance of three single questions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the validity of three single questions used to assess self-reported hearing loss as compared to pure-tone audiometry in an adult population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A validity study was performed with a random sub-sample of 188 subjects aged 30 to 65 years, drawn from the fourth wave of a population-based cohort study carried out in Salvador, Northeastern Brazil. Data were collected in household visits using questionnaires. Three questions were used to separately assess self-reported hearing loss: Q1, "Do you feel you have a hearing loss?"; Q2, "In general, would you say your hearing is 'excellent,' 'very good,' 'good,' 'fair,' 'poor'?"; Q3, "Currently, do you think you can hear 'the same as before', 'less than before only in the right ear', 'less than before only in the left ear', 'less than before in both ears'?". Measures of accuracy were estimated through seven measures including Youden index. Responses to each question were compared to the results of pure-tone audiometry to estimate accuracy measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The estimated sensitivity and specificity were 79.6%, 77.4% for Q1; 66.9%, 85.1% for Q2; and 81.5%, 76.4% for Q3, respectively. The Youden index ranged from 51.9% (Q2) to 57.0% (Q1) and 57.9% (Q3).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Each of all three questions provides responses accurate enough to support their use to assess self-reported hearing loss in epidemiological studies with adult populations when pure-tone audiometry is not feasible.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fonoaudiologia, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brasil. ferrite@ufba.br
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrite
authors.forename: Vilma Sousa
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.forename: Stephen William
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires