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The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S) versus a single question: reliability, validity, and relations with quality of life measures in the elderly community, Japan

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Abstract

Purpose

Little is known about the usefulness of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S) and a single question (SQ) in assessing hearing impairment (HI) and the impact of HI on quality of life (QOL). The objective of this study was to examine the reliability, validity, and associations with QOL measures (i.e., subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, subjective loneliness, and physical functioning) of the HHIE-S and the SQ in the elderly community.

Methods

A self-report questionnaire including HHIE-S, SQ, Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence was administered to community elderly (781 males and 950 females). Among them, 97 males and 100 females also responded voluntarily to a request for test–retest and auditory tests. The criterion validity was tested by using pure-tone averages.

Results

Regarding the reliability of HHIE-S, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.91, Spearman–Brown coefficient was 0.90, and intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.85. Regarding the test–retest reliability of SQ, kappa coefficient was 0.65. HHIE-S had significantly lower sensitivity in identifying >25-dB HI, but significantly higher specificity for the detection of >40-dB HI than SQ. HHIE-S had stronger associations with QOL measures than did SQ.

Conclusions

HHIE-S had high reliability, while SQ had insufficient reliability. HHIE-S was more specific in detecting HI and more sensitive in assessing the impact of HI on QOL than SQ. HHIE-S is a more effective instrument for assessing HI and QOL research than SQ in the elderly community.

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Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

GDS:

Geriatric Depression Scale

HI:

Hearing impairment

HHIE:

The Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly

HHIE-S:

The Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening

IADL:

Instrumental activity of daily living

ICC:

Intra-class correlation coefficient

LR:

Likelihood ratio

OR:

Odds ratio

PGC:

Philadelphia Geriatric Center

PTA:

Pure-tone average

PV:

Predictive value

QOL:

Quality of life

SQ:

Single question about hearing

TMIG Index:

Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence

UCLA:

University of California at Los Angeles

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Hiroshi Nozaki, Toshikazu Takeda, Mitsuhiko Kanakura, Shiori Yoshiyama, and Kana Kushigemachi for their valuable assistance in measuring pure-tone audiometry, and Etsuko Ebisutani for her valuable help on field management. In addition, the authors wish to express their gratitude to all the participants for their cooperation in this study. This work was supported by a research grant from the Taiyo Life Welfare Foundation (Tokyo, Japan) (2009–2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara, 634-8521, Japan

    Kimiko Tomioka, Nozomi Okamoto, Keigo Saeki & Norio Kurumatani

  2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Japan Red Cross Society Wakayama Medical Center, Wakayama, Japan

    Hiroki Ikeda

  3. Department of Health Promotion, Sakai City Government Office, Sakai, Japan

    Kaoru Hanaie

  4. Sakai City Mental Health Center, Sakai, Japan

    Masayuki Morikawa

  5. Department of Adult Nursing Science, Yokkaichi Nursing and Medical Care University, Yokkaichi, Japan

    Junko Iwamoto

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  1. Kimiko Tomioka
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Correspondence to Kimiko Tomioka.

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Tomioka, K., Ikeda, H., Hanaie, K. et al. The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S) versus a single question: reliability, validity, and relations with quality of life measures in the elderly community, Japan. Qual Life Res 22, 1151–1159 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-012-0235-2

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