Test-Retest Reliability of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) in Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract

Introduction The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) is a questionnaire designed to assess the auditory experience and quantify hearing disabilities in realistic communication situations, with particular attention to binaural hearing. Objective To determine the test-retest reliability of the SSQ in Brazilian Portuguese. Method A total of 35 individuals with mean age of 61 years and mean education of 7 years were interviewed. The mean auditory threshold was 44.29 dBNA in the best ear and 58.04 dBNA in the worst ear. The SSQ in Portuguese was applied at two time points, test and retest. An interval of 7 to 20 days between interviews was established. The level of significance adopted was 0.05, or 5%. Results The analysis revealed a high Cronbach α coefficient for the three domains and for the general component of the scale, demonstrating good internal consistency between the items. In addition, a significant strong correlation was detected between test and retest of the SSQ on the analysis by domain and for the general component of the scale. A significant moderate-to-strong correlation between test and retest by question was found, except for question 2 of Part I. Conclusion The test-retest reliability indicators showed good stability of the Portuguese version of the SSQ, indicating that the scale is suitable for use in the hearing-impaired population in Brazil.

Sensitivity and specificity of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ5) for screening hearing in adults

“…The different versions applied in previous studies have mean total SSQ scores in the 6.7-8.8 range for normal-hearing subjects and in the 4.1-7.7 range for hearing-impaired individuals, values corroborated by the present study findings ( 12 , 13 , 15 - 18 , 20 , 22 , 24 , 28 ) . The SSQ5 used in the present study yielded an average SSQ score of 8.3 points for the normal-hearing participants and 5.4 in the hearing-impaired group.…”

Dificuldades de adultos ouvintes em situações cotidianas de escuta

“…Destas, quatro estão relacionadas a habilidades de localização sonora e uma diz respeito à discriminação auditiva (identificar o humor pelo som da voz). Sabe-se que, com a idade, adultos podem apresentar compensações na percepção auditiva ser útil para avaliar aspectos específicos da dificuldade auditiva 12 .…”

“…Tanto no presente estudo quanto em outros estudos 15,17,18 , a menor pontuação obtida por indivíduos normo-ouvintes no SSQ foi no domínio Audição Espacial. Estudos demonstraram que adultos com perda auditiva também apresentaram menor pontuação no domínio Audição para a Fala do SSQ, sendo o domínio com maior discrepância de pontuação quando comparados a grupos de adultos com audição normal 5,12,15,17 .…”

Difficulties of normally-hearing adults in daily listening situations

“…Therefore, further studies may contribute to establish scores for the questionnaire version in the Portuguese language according to different age groups 11 . In the analysis, it may be useful to assess the score disparities between the different domains of the SSQ in order to evaluate specific aspects in hearing impairment 12 .…”