The American Medical Association/American Academy of Otolaryngology Formula for Determination of Hearing Handicap

Abstract

The main problem in attempting to estimate auditory handicap from easily measured indices such as pure-tone sensitivity or intelligibility scores for numbers, words or sentences is that no criterion to establish validity has received wide acceptance. Even though few would disagree with the definition of handicap accepted by the American Medical Association: ‘the disadvantage imposed by an impairment sufficient to affect the individual's efficiency in the activities of daily living’, this definition is so vague that it is of little practical value. Consequently, all formulae to rate handicap are based on assumptions of a more or less arbitrary nature. A dozen such assumptions are shown to underly the formula of the American Medical Association/American Academy of Otolaryngology.

Key Words:

• Hearing handicap
• Hearing impairment