title: Validity and reliability of the hearing handicap inventory for adults.
abstract: The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA) translated into Brazilian Portuguese has been used for clinical practice and research purposes; however, information regarding its ease of reading and psychometric properties are still lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the ease of reading and psychometric properties of the Brazilian translation of this tool, including its validity and reliability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study. The questionnaire was applied to 30 normal hearing (Group A) and 113 hearing impaired (Group B) persons. Thirty two participants (group B) answered the questionnaire a second time. The Flesch readability index was calculated for each item in the questionnaire. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability and discriminant validity were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Flesch's scores showed that the questionnaire was easy to read. Cronbach's alpha and Pearson's correlation showed high internal consistency. There was no significant difference between test and retest scores. Besides, correlation between these two scores was also high and significant. Student t test indicated significant difference between scores for groups A and B (discriminant validity).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults translated into Brazilian Portuguese maintained the reliability and validity of the English version. Further studies are needed to determine the convergent validity and construct validity for this instrument.
authors.affiliation: Speech and hearing therapist. MSc student in the Graduate Program of the Speech and Hearing Department of the School of Dentistry - University of São Paulo, FOB-USP, Bauru, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila Piccini
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Aiello
authors.affiliation: Speech and hearing therapist. MSc student in the Graduate Program of the Speech and Hearing Department of the School of Dentistry - University of São Paulo, FOB-USP, Bauru, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ivanildo Inácio
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.affiliation: PhD in Neurosciences and Behavior - Institute of Psychology of the University of São Paulo, Professor at the Department of Speech and Hearing Therapy of the School of Dentistry - University of São Paulo, FOB-USP, Bauru, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: deborahferrari@usp.br.
authors.forename: Deborah Viviane
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Ferrari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating