The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ)

Abstract

The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) is designed to measure a range of hearing disabilities across several domains. Particular attention is given to hearing speech in a variety of competing contexts, and to the directional, distance and movement components of spatial hearing. In addition, the abilities both to segregate sounds and to attend to simultaneous speech streams are assessed, reflecting the reality of hearing in the everyday world. Qualities of hearing experience include ease of listening, and the naturalness, clarity and identifiability of different speakers, different musical pieces and instruments, and different everyday sounds. Application of the SSQ to 153 new clinic clients prior to hearing aid fitting showed that the greatest difficulty was experienced with simultaneous speech streams, ease of listening, listening in groups and in noise, and judging distance and movement. SSQ ratings were compared with an independent measure of handicap. After differences in hearing level were controlled for, it was found that identification, attention and effort problems, as well as spatial hearing problems, feature prominently in the disability–handicap relationship, along with certain features of speech hearing. The results implicate aspects of temporal and spatial dynamics of hearing disability in the experience of handicap. The SSQ shows promise as an instrument for evaluating interventions of various kinds, particularly (but not exclusively) those that implicate binaural function.

Restoring hearing symmetry with two cochlear implants or one cochlear implant and a contralateral hearing aid

“…In two groups of patients, one with asymmetrical hearing loss and the other with symmetrical hearing loss, the asymmetrical group was more disabled based on self-ratings on the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) [42]. The symmetrical group was more uniform in their ratings of their disability, whereas the asymmetrical group's disabilities were more selective.…”

“…The SSQ is a comprehensive inquiry of hearing disabilities, includes a broad range of domains, and is intended to reflect listening in real-world situations [42]. The Speech scale assesses hearing of speech in competing contexts such as reverberation and multiple talkers.…”

A good practice guide for translating and adapting hearing-related questionnaires for different languages and cultures

“…For example, the SSQ (Gatehouse and Noble, 2004) contains 49 items which might render it less practical for a busy clinic or a clinical trial than a shorter instrument. Cost could be the licence fee for copyrighted materials, although often reduced tariffs are offered by authors for non-commercial (e.g.…”

“…Cost could also be the site staffing resources required for questionnaire administration and scoring. For example, for the SSQ an audiologist-administered interview is preferable to self-administration, in order to explain the meaning of the questions and to avoid any misunderstanding by the patient (Gatehouse and Noble, 2004). Comprehensibility (readability) refers to the degree to which an item is readily understood by most people.…”

“…Instead, most have a multidimensional structure with items assessing and measuring different concepts and combining item scores to provide a global composite score. One example is the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ, Gatehouse and Noble, 2004) which assesses three domains of hearing disability: speech communication, spatial hearing and qualities of listening. Investigators would be advised to consider the FDA guidance that a complex multidimensional claim about the clinical efficacy of an intervention cannot be substantiated by questionnaires that do not cover component domain concepts.…”