Abstract
To investigate the sensitivity and specificity of 5 questions of the SSQ in Brazilian Portuguese for its application as a hearing screening instrument in adults. A total of 135 adults with a mean age of 49.6 years and education of 9 years took part in the study. All subjects underwent hearing tests and were divided into 2 groups according to hearing acuity: G1 - 66 individuals with normal hearing on audiometric test: and G2 - 69 participants with impaired hearing on audiometric evaluation in one or both ears. The 5 items of the SSQ5, derived from the Brazilian Portuguese version of the SSQ49 were applied. The level of significance was set at a p-value ≤ 0.05, with a 95% confidence interval. G1 subjects were younger and higher educated (p<0.01). A weak positive correlation was found between education and SSQ5 score only in G1. In G2, there was no correlation of age or education with SSQ5 performance. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the relationship between SSQ5 and audiometric average was 0.854 and p-value was <0.001 with bounds of 0.79 and 0.91. SSQ5 scores were lower in G2 (p<0.001). The cut-off point with optimal balance between sensitivity and specificity was 7.3, yielding 80% accuracy, 81.8% sensitivity and 78.3% specificity. The Brazilian Portuguese version of the SSQ5 proved suitable for screening hearing loss in adults, offering good accuracy, sensitivity and specificity for detecting hearing loss.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (2018), handicapping hearing loss affects 432 million adults, one third of whom are over 65 years of age
According to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health – ICF[1], hearing loss stems from problems in function or structures of the auditory system, causing impaired performance of hearing functions, such as: detecting sounds, monitoring the environment, perceiving distance and direction of sounds, locating sound sources and recognizing speech
Given the groups differed for age and education (Table 1), correlation of these variables with total score on the SSQ5 was analyzed (Table 2)
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (2018), handicapping hearing loss affects 432 million adults, one third of whom are over 65 years of age. These estimates are set to rise to 630 million by 2030 and 933 million by 2050. An estimated 1.1 billion young individuals aged 12-35 years run the risk of hearing loss due to exposure to noise levels in recreational environments. Any difficulty the individual has performing these tasks characterizes handicap in activities. Disabilities in hearing tasks can handicap the individual in everyday situations, given that these compromise social interaction, relationships, occupational activities, leisure, learning and creativity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
