Consistency of two versions of hearing handicap inventory for elderly (HHIE and HHIE-S) with degree of hearing loss (HL)

Abstract Objective Using self-assessment methods to assess hearing handicap in the elderly can play an important role in understanding their disease status and taking action to improve it. Thus, the present study was performed to determine the consistency of two versions hearing handicap inventory for elderly, namely HHIE and HHIE-S, with the degree of hearing loss(HL). Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 110 elderly aged 60 years and above who referred to hearing clinics in province Khuzestan, Iran in 2019. In order to collect data, HHIE (including 25 questions) and HHIE-S (including 10 questions) were used. Data analysis was done using SPSS ver. 24. Independent sample t-test was used to compare HHIE and HHIE-S scores in terms of the degree of HL. Results The prevalence of mild, moderate and severe degrees of HL was 21.82%, 48.18% and 30.0%, respectively. The majority of the patients suffered from sensorineural hearing loss (77.28%). Comparison of HHIE/HHIE-S total score among patients with different degrees of HL showed statistically significant differences, and patients with a higher degree of hearing loss reported higher hearing handicaps. HHIE and HHIE-S total scores showed a positive large significant correlation (r = 0.815, p < 0.001).Our findings revealed a significant large positive association of the PTA with the total score of HHIE (r = 0.69, p < 0.001) and HHIE-S (r = 0.76, p < 0.001). Conclusions The large correlation between HHIE and HHIE-S measures observed in the current data supports that these two scales can be used interchangeably. These patient reported outcome inventories are congruent with hearing loss level, so they can be used as proper criteria for referring patients to audiologists in health system.