title: [The Influence of Hearing Loss Represented by Standard Audiogram Types to Unaided APHAB Scores].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Questionnaires as the APHAB (Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit) are besides pure-tone and speech-audiometry the third method of diagnostics in audiology. Up to now there has been no research on the influence of individual hearing loss, represented by standard audiograms, on the scores of the unaided APHAB (APHABu) done with a big number of subjects. This study will investigate whether there does exist such a relationship or not.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 2 745 records provided by a database were analysed. First, the subjects' audiograms (air conduction) were allocated to 7 standardised audiogram types. By using a multivariant mixed linear model a potential connection was examined between these standard audiograms and particular APHABu scores for its four subscales: EC - ease of communication, BN - background noise, RV - reverberation, AV - aversiveness of sounds.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no evidence for a dependency between any type of hearing loss dependence and unaided APHAB-scores. The values on the EC-scale vary between 49.8 and 58.0, on the BN-scale between 45.3 and 46.6, on the RV-scale between 44.4 and 52.4, and on the AV-scale between 47.6 and 50.1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This result confirms earlier studies with other questionnaires. Therefore, the APHABu can be used as an initial instrument for the diagnostics of individual hearing loss independently on whether hearing aids will be fitted subsequently or not.
authors.affiliation: Deutscher Berufsverband der HNO-Ärzte e. V., Wissenschaftliches Institut für angewandte HNO-Heilkunde (WIAHNO), Bad Bramstedt.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Löhler
authors.affiliation: Deutscher Berufsverband der HNO-Ärzte e. V., Wissenschaftliches Institut für angewandte HNO-Heilkunde (WIAHNO), Bad Bramstedt.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Akcicek
authors.affiliation: HNO-Praxis, Dortmund.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kappe
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-,Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde, Lübeck.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wollenberg
authors.affiliation: Institut für Medizinische Statistik, Informatik und Dokumentation, Universitätsklinikum Jena.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schlattmann
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde, Sektion für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie, Lübeck.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schönweiler
mesh_terms: D003638:Deafness; D006310:Hearing Aids; D034381:Hearing Loss; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise; D013067:Speech Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires