Hearing disability measured by the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ): pilot study of a short version in Brazilian Portuguese

摘要

ABSTRACT Introduction The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) is a questionnaire that assesses subjective experience and quantifies hearing disabilities in communication situations. Purpose To carry out a pilot study of a short version of the SSQ questionnaire in Brazilian Portuguese to measure hearing disability resulting from hearing loss. Methods We selected 30 individuals, 12 males and 18 females, aged 18 to 89 years, with average education of nine years. The subjects underwent pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry tests and immittance measurements. Participants were divided into two groups according to hearing threshold, comprising 15 with normal hearing (NL) and 15 with hearing loss (HL). All participants answered the SSQ questionnaire - short version (12 items) - in the form of an interview, rating their communication performance in all situations assessed with a score of 0 to 10. Results The mean scores obtained were 6.68 and 4.13 for the NL and HL groups, respectively. Individuals with hearing loss had lower scores than subjects with normal hearing. A high Cronbach?￠????s alpha coefficient was found in both groups, demonstrating good internal consistency between the different items of the questionnaire. Conclusion The short version of the SSQ in Brazilian Portuguese was sensitive in differentiating the performance of individuals with and without hearing loss, confirming its potential for assessing limitations in hearing and communication activities experienced by hearing-impaired individuals in their everyday lives.