title: A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing questionnaire (SSQ) is a self-report test of auditory disability. The 49 items ask how well a listener would do in many complex listening situations illustrative of real life. The scores on the items are often combined into the three main sections or into 10 pragmatic subscales. We report here a factor analysis of the SSQ that we conducted to further investigate its statistical properties and to determine its structure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Statistical factor analysis of questionnaire data, using parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to retain, oblique rotation of factors, and a bootstrap method to estimate the confidence intervals.
  
  
  METHODS
  1220 people who have attended MRC IHR over the last decade.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found three clear factors, essentially corresponding to the three main sections of the SSQ. They are termed "speech understanding", "spatial perception", and "clarity, separation, and identification". Thirty-five of the SSQ questions were included in the three factors. There was partial evidence for a fourth factor, "effort and concentration", representing two more questions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results aid in the interpretation and application of the SSQ and indicate potential methods for generating average scores.
authors.affiliation: MRC Institute of Hearing Research (Scottish Section), Glasgow Royal Infirmary , Glasgow , UK.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Akeroyd
authors.forename: Fiona H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Guy
authors.forename: Dawn L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Sharon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Suller
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention; D001299:Audiometry; D032882:Comprehension; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013017:Sound Localization; D013028:Space Perception; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires