Diagnostic Validity of Self-Reported Hearing Loss in Elderly Taiwanese Individuals: Diagnostic Performance of a Hearing Self-Assessment Questionnaire on Audiometry

Abstract

Key Points: Question: Can the traditional Chinese version of the hearing handicap inventory for elderly screening (HHIE-S) checklist screen for age-related hearing loss (ARHL) in elderly individuals? Findings: In this cross-sectional study of 1696 Taiwanese patients who underwent annual government-funded geriatric health checkups, the Chinese version of the HHIE-S had a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 79.8% with a cutoff score greater than 6 for identifying patients with disabled hearing loss (defined as a PTA > 40 dB). Meaning: The traditional Chinese version of the HHIE-S is an effective test to detect ARHL and can improve the feasibility of large-scale hearing screening among elderly individuals. Purpose: The traditional Chinese version of the hearing handicap inventory for elderly screening (TC-HHIE-S) was translated from English and is intended for use with people whose native language is traditional Chinese, but its effectiveness and diagnostic performance are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the traditional Chinese version of the HHIE-S for screening for age-related hearing loss (ARHL). Methods: A total of 1696 elderly people underwent the government’s annual geriatric medical examination at community hospitals. In this cross-sectional study, we recorded average conducted pure-tone averages (PTA) (0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 4 kHz), age, sex, and HHIE-S data. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to identify the best critical point for detecting hearing impairment, and the validity of the structure was verified by the agreement between the TC-HHIE-S and PTA results. Results: The HHIE-S scores were correlated with the better-ear pure-tone threshold averages (PTAs) at 0.5–4 kHz (correlation coefficient r = 0.45). The internal consistency of the total HHIE-S score was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.901), and the test-retest reliability was also excellent (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = 0.60, intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.75). In detecting disabled hearing loss (i.e., PTA at 0.5–4 kHz > 40 dB), the HHIE-S cutoff score of > 6 had a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 79.8%. Conclusions: The traditional Chinese version of the HHIE-S is a valid, reliable, and efficient tool for large-scale screening for ARHL.

Is Hearing Loss a Risk Factor for Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease? An English Longitudinal Study of Ageing Analysis

“…Critically, this prior literature has relied upon clinically diagnosed hearing loss as the exposure measure. Within the localities in which these studies recruited participants (Taiwanese, English, and German populations), the clinical diagnosis of hearing loss relies upon pure tone audiometry assessments [ 68 , 69 ]. Previous literature has shown that the concordance between pure tone audiometry and self-reported hearing capabilities is low [ 65 ].…”

Sensitivity and specificity of hearing tests for screening hearing loss in older adults

“…The hearing handicap inventory for elderly screening (HHIE-S) consists of ten 4-point questions about the emotional and social aspects of hearing loss. The traditional Chinese version was translated by Yang et al. (2021) and validated by Yang et al.…”

“…The traditional Chinese version was translated by Yang et al. (2021) and validated by Yang et al. (2021) .…”

“…However, the effectiveness of HHIE to detect disabled hearing loss in older adults is unclear. Although Yang et al. (2021) reported HHIE-S can detect disabled hearing loss, Everett et al.…”

Association of Dual Sensory Impairment with Declining Physical Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…The pure tone average was defined as the average of hearing thresholds at each frequency. HI was defined as a pure tone average of the better-hearing ear of greater than 40 dB with reference to previous studies [ 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”