Comparison of speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale questionnaire and the abbreviated profile of hearing aid benefit in a large cohort of listeners

Abstract

The speech, spatial, and qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ; Gatehouse and Noble, 2004) is a 49-item questionnaire developed to assess listeners’ subjective sense of listening ability and listening experience in everyday complex situations that often involve spatial hearing. The Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB; Cox and Alexander, 1995) is a 24-item self-assessment questionnaire in which listeners report the amount of trouble they have while communicating in various everyday listening situations. The APHAB assesses multiple listening environments that include ease of communication, reverberation, background noise, and aversiveness of sounds. Even though both the questionnaires measure the self-reported hearing ability/disability, there are very few studies in the literature that compares the outcome of these two questionnaires on same group of listeners. Both the questionnaires were administered to198 listeners (younger: n = 107, mean age = 22.8 years, range: 19–25 years; older: n = 91; mean age = 53.5 years, range: 40–70 years) through Qualtrics. The differences and relationships between the two groups for both the questionnaires will be discussed. These data are intended to aid in interpreting the SSQ and APHAB results in typical audiological clinics.