Reliability and Validity of Self-Screening Tool for Hearing Loss in Older Adults

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Data and Hearing Status of 170 Older Adults as Group Mean and Standard Deviation

Variable	Normal (n=28)	Mild HL (n=57)	Moderate HL (n=70)	Severe HL (n=15)
Age, MeanSD	69.966.05	71.935.71	73.035.23	71.674.23
Sex
Female, n (%)	18 (64.3%)	36 (63.1%)	26 (37.1%)	4 (26.7%)
Male, n (%)	10 (35.7%)	21 (36.9%)	44 (62.9%)	11 (73.3%)
Hearing status
PTA, dB, MeanSD	15.823.61	29.206.72	50.778.07	80.3213.02
WRS, %, MeanSD	96.715.56	91.307.49	58.622.32	28.3323.97

Abbreviations: PTA, pure-tone average; WRS, word recognition scores; SD, standard deviation.

Figure 1 A flow chart of the experiment procedures.

Figure 2 Comparison of test and retest scores for SHSE-R as a function of hearing levels.

Notes: *p<0.05, ^†p<0.01.

Table 2 Correlation of Each Subcategory and Total Score with Three Hearing Tests

			Self-Assessment of Hearing Screening of the Elderly – Revised
			General Issue	Distracting Conditions	Working Memory		Total
Convergent validity
PTA			0.75^†	0.74^†	0.51^†		0.75^†
WRS			−0.72^†	−0.70^†	−0.53^†		−0.72^†
OAEs	1 kHz		−0.49^†	−0.52^†	−0.40^†		−0.52^†
	2 kHz		−0.38^†	−0.41^†	−0.28^†		−0.40^†
	4 kHz		−0.37^†	−0.40^†	−0.34^†		−0.40^†
	8 kHz		−0.42^†	−0.44^†	−0.34^†		−0.43^†
Construct validity
Speech in noise			−0.52^†	− 0.48^†	−0.35^†		−0.50^†
Fast rate of speech			−0.54^†	− 0.53^†	−0.41^†		−0.53^†
Working memory			−0.34^†	− 0.34^†	−0.27^†		−0.34^†
Criterion validity of each group (normal/mild/moderate/severe)
KHHIE		0.74^†/0.71^†/0.61^†/0.30		0.78^†/0.75^†/0.73^†/-0.01		0.65^†/0.60^†/0.57^†/0.71*	0.79^†/0.76^†/0.71^†/0.40
KESHH		0.52^†/0.51^†/0.69^†/-0.08		0.65^†/0.57^†/0.83^†/0.10		0.60^†/0.39^†/0.61^†/0.56	0.64^†/0.56^†/0.81^†/0.16

Notes: *p<0.05, ^†p<0.01.

Abbreviations: PTA, pure-tone average; WRS, word recognition scores; OAEs, otoacoustic emissions; KHHIE, Korean Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly; KESHH, Korean Evaluation Scale for Hearing Handicap.

Table 3 Components Loadings from the EFA for the 20 Items of the SHSE-R

Component	Item No.	Question	Factor
			1	2	3
Factor 1. General issues
D	10	Do you have difficulty understanding speech in a reverberating location (e.g., cathedral, indoor swimming pool)?	0.87
D	9	Do you find it difficult to talk to people in noisy places (e.g., restaurant, subway)?	0.86
G	1	Do you have difficulty understanding when someone talks too quietly?	0.83
G	11	Do you have difficulty understanding the conversation when several people talk at the same time?	0.82
G	3	Do you have difficulty understanding mumbled or unclear voices?	0.82
G	6	Do you wish to increase the TV’s volume when watching it with family because the sound is not clear?	0.81
D	8	Do you have difficulty hearing the announcements on public transport (e.g., bus, subway)?	0.80
G	5	Have you ever misunderstood or responded inappropriately to what someone said?	0.79
D	2	Do you have difficulty hearing sounds such as birds and crickets singing or water flowing?	0.78
D	13	Do you find it difficult to understand what others are saying on the phone?	0.74
G	4	Do you find it difficult to understand an unfamiliar voice (e.g., stranger) compared to a familiar voice (e.g., friend, family)?	0.70
D	12	Have you missed hearing a doorbell when a guest has visited your house (if there is no doorbell, a knock or a voice calling to you)?	0.69
Factor 2. Distracting condition
D	15	Have you ever felt that the TV or radio sound is too fast?		0.83
D	16	Have you ever asked a communication partner to speak slowly because you feel his or her speech is too fast?		0.79
D	14	Do you have difficulty communicating in a dark environment where the face is not clearly visible (expression and mouth shape)?		0.66
G	7	Have you ever heard that your voice is too loud when you speak?		0.60
Factor 3. Working memory
W	20	Have you ever asked someone to repeat what you just said because you did not remember?			0.78
W	19	Have you ever wandered the store aisles because you could not remember after hearing the location of the item you were looking for?			0.71
W	17	Have you ever found it difficult to remember the first half while listening to a rather long story?			0.61
D	18	Have you ever asked someone to repeat what was said during a conversation?			0.56