title: Validation of the Swedish Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (Screening Version) and Evaluation of Its Effect in Hearing Aid Rehabilitation.
abstract: Self-reports of subjective hearing difficulties by people with hearing loss may be a useful complement to audiometry in hearing aid rehabilitation. To be useful, such self-reports need to be reliable. This study investigated the reliability and the validity of the Swedish Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (Screening Version; HHIE-S). Sixty-nine participants completed a questionnaire before hearing aid rehabilitation. Of these individuals, 49 completed hearing aid rehabilitation (aged between 23 and 94 years), and 41 of these 49 participants completed the questionnaire after completing the rehabilitation. The Swedish HHIE-S exhibited good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .77). The questionnaire was effective for evaluating hearing aid rehabilitation, and a statistically significant reduction in hearing difficulties was observed. The clinicians found the questionnaire easy to administer and effective in hearing aid rehabilitation. The findings from the study support the use of the HHIE-S in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuro and Inflammation Science, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Department of Otorhinolaryngology in Linköping, Anaesthetics, Operations and Specialty Surgery Center, Region Östergötland Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, The Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, Sweden marie.oberg@liu.se.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Öberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001307:Auditory Perception; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: activity limitation; hearing aid rehabilitation; self-reports