Evaluation of hearing aid benefit using the Shortened Hearing Aid Performance Inventory.

To date, little quantitative data regarding hearing aid benefit has been produced in New Zealand. The 38-item Shortened Hearing Aid Performance Inventory (SHAPI) was administered by mail to hearing aid clients aged over 50 years who had been fitted with hearing aids in the previous 2 years. Based on subjects' responses, three items with low applicability were dropped from the analysis. The overall mean rating was higher than that of comparable studies, indicating a lower hearing aid benefit level. Mean rating was positively correlated with subject age but was not correlated with weekly hours of use. Factor analysis revealed three significant factors that were consistent with factors identified in previous studies: listening under favorable conditions, listening to speech in background noise, and listening with reduced cues. Consistent with previous studies, internal consistency was very high.