Translation of hearing handicap inventory (adults and elderly) to Kannada

Abstract

Introduction: The study aimed to translate two questionnaires on hearing handicap to South Indian language - Kannada. The questionnaires translated were Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA) and Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly (HHIE). Materials and Methods: The procedure of translation included forward translation and back translation done by the experts. The translated questionnaires were administered on 40 individuals with hearing impairment ranging from mild to severe degree. The participants were divided into two groups. In the Group I, there were 20 adults and in the Group II, there were 20 elderly participants. The relation between hearing threshold, Speech Identification Scores (SISs), and handicap scores were found in both the groups. Further, to check internal consistency of the questionnaire Chronbach alpha was obtained. Results: In Group II, there was a significant positive correlation between hearing thresholds and handicap score and a significant negative correlation between SISs and handicap score. However, such a correlation was not observed in Group I. The Chronbach alpha value was found to be 0.90 for HHIA and 0.967 for HHIE showing good reliability and internal consistency. Conclusion: The results implied that the degree of hearing impairment and speech perception abilities determines the degree of handicap in elderly. However, in adults, due to high-listening needs and emotional reaction to hearing impairment there was no such trend. Chronbach alpha value inferred that the questionnaire can be used to classify hearing impaired population based on the degree of their handicap.