Abstract
BackgroundGlobally increasing number of elders is concerned. Hearing loss process in older adults cannot be avoided. An effective screening tool for hearing loss is essential for proper diagnosis and rehabilitation, which can improve QOL in older adults.MethodsThis prospective-diagnostic test study evaluates the diagnostic value of Thai version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly Screening (HHIE-ST) and the Thai Single Question (TSQ) surveys in screening hearing disability in 1109 Thai participants aged 60 years and older in communities in four provinces in Thailand. The HHIE-ST consisted of 10 selected questions from the validated HHIE-Thai version. A TSQ survey was developed to have the same meaning as an English Single Question survey. The participants answered both questionnaires, and a standard audiometry test assessed with air conduction from 250 to 8000 Hz was included as a gold standard.ResultsThe prevalence of hearing disability was 38.34%. The HHIE-ST achieved a sensitivity of 88.96% (95% CI 85.77–91.64) and specificity of 52.19% (95% CI 48.24–56.13) for diagnosis hearing disability in Thai older adults, whereas the TSQ yielded a sensitivity of 88.73% and a specificity of 55.93%. A combined test including the HHIE-ST and TSQ achieved better performance with sensitivity of 85.29% and specificity of 60.13%.ConclusionsEither the HHIE-ST or the TSQ is a sensitive and useful tool for screening hearing disability in Thai older adults. Using the HHIE-ST together with the TSQ resulted in a better screening tool for detecting moderate hearing loss older adults who will benefit and recommended for hearing rehabilitation.Trial registrationThe study is registered with the following number in the Thai Clinical Trials Registry: TCTR20151015003. Date of registration October 14, 2015.
Highlights
The Thai National Health Security Office (NHSO) defines hearing disability and provides rights, including free hearing aid, for individuals with bilateral hearing loss with a Pure tone average (PTA) BE greater than 40 dB on standardized pure tone audiometry
The aim of this study was to assess and compare the performance of the Thai version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly Screening Version (HHIE-S) instrument (HHIE-ST) and a Thai Single Question (TSQ) test in identifying older subjects with hearing loss against results obtained in measuring hearing loss using PTA, which is the gold standard in Thais over 60 years old
For the Thai Single Question (TSQ), we used the question in “The 2012 Disability Survey” [36], which was independently translated from Thai into English by 2 translators, with a final consensus achieved to correspond to the meaning of the question in A Single English Question, which was used as a reference in this study
Summary
Hearing loss process in older adults cannot be avoided. An effective screening tool for hearing loss is essential for proper diagnosis and rehabilitation, which can improve QOL in older adults. As well as most global nations, is becoming an aging society given the rising number of older adults. Many studies have shown that hearing disability impacts quality of life, increases occupational accidents, leads to mental and cognitive impairments and increases the mortality rate in the older adult population [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. The standard method for the diagnosis of hearing impairment is standardized pure tone audiometry. The Thai National Health Security Office (NHSO) defines hearing disability and provides rights, including free hearing aid, for individuals with bilateral hearing loss with a PTA BE greater than 40 dB on standardized pure tone audiometry
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