Sunghwa You1,2, Woojae Han1,2,3, Saea Kim1,2, Sanga Maeng4, Young Joon Seo4. 1. Laboratory of Hearing and Technology. 2. Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology. 3. Research Institute of Audiology and Speech Pathology, College of Natural Sciences, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea. 4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to identify the reliability and validity of a screening tool for the elderly who wish to check their level of hearing loss by themselves. DESIGN: A total of 170 older adults with different hearing levels participated. The Self-Assessment for Hearing Screening of the Elderly-Revised (SHSE-R) consisted of 20 questions measured on a 5-point scale and developed in terms of characteristics of age-related hearing loss. For reliability, the subjects responded to SHSE-R twice with a three-week interval. They also took various subjective and objective hearing tests and a working memory test and filled out two other questionnaires for validation. RESULTS: SHSE-R showed a high internal consistency and a high reliability when comparing test-retest scores. Its content validity was as high as 0.88-1. Convergent validity supported SHSE-R and its subcategories while showing either a positive or negative correlation with pure-tone average, word recognition scores, and otoacoustic emission tests. Construct validity was proved by a moderate negative correlation with the tests of speech in noise, speech with fast speed, and working memory. In criterion validity, a strong positive correlation existed between SHSE-R and the other questionnaires, except for a group with severe hearing loss. The factor analysis showed similar results to the original version of SHSE having three factors, although some items were interchanged. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that SHSE-R was well developed with both excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability and valuable convergent, construct, and criterion validities, consequently making SHSE-R useful for self-checking hearing loss in the elderly.
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to identify the reliability and validity of a screening tool for the elderly who wish to check their level of hearing loss by themselves. DESIGN: A total of 170 older adults with different hearing levels participated. The Self-Assessment for Hearing Screening of the Elderly-Revised (SHSE-R) consisted of 20 questions measured on a 5-point scale and developed in terms of characteristics of age-related hearing loss. For reliability, the subjects responded to SHSE-R twice with a three-week interval. They also took various subjective and objective hearing tests and a working memory test and filled out two other questionnaires for validation. RESULTS: SHSE-R showed a high internal consistency and a high reliability when comparing test-retest scores. Its content validity was as high as 0.88-1. Convergent validity supported SHSE-R and its subcategories while showing either a positive or negative correlation with pure-tone average, word recognition scores, and otoacoustic emission tests. Construct validity was proved by a moderate negative correlation with the tests of speech in noise, speech with fast speed, and working memory. In criterion validity, a strong positive correlation existed between SHSE-R and the other questionnaires, except for a group with severe hearing loss. The factor analysis showed similar results to the original version of SHSE having three factors, although some items were interchanged. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that SHSE-R was well developed with both excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability and valuable convergent, construct, and criterion validities, consequently making SHSE-R useful for self-checking hearing loss in the elderly.