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The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults
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1990
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DisabilityHhia FocusPsychologyAuditory ScienceHealth SciencesAural RehabilitationAssistive TechnologyPsychiatryGeriatricsAudiologyHearing DisordersRehabilitationHuman HearingHearing ConservationGeriatric AudiologyHearing LossHearing Handicap InventorySpeech PerceptionMedicine
The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA) is a 25‑item self‑assessment scale with emotional and social/situational subscales. The HHIA was created by adapting the HHIE for adults under 65, replacing items to emphasize occupational effects of hearing loss. In 67 hearing‑impaired adults, the HHIA demonstrated high internal consistency, low measurement error, and weak but significant correlations with audiometric tests, supporting its use as a self‑report handicap measure.
The Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) was modified for use with younger hearing-impaired adults (less than 65 years of age). Similar to the HHIE, the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA), is a 25-item self-assessment scale composed of two subscales (emotional and social/situational). Replacement questions from the HHIE which form the HHIA focus on the occupational effects of hearing loss. For 67 hearing-impaired adults, the HHIA demonstrated high internal consistency reliability and a low standard error of measurement. Audiometric correlates of the HHIA revealed weak, yet statistically significant relationships with pure-tone sensitivity and supra-threshold word recognition ability. These findings support the use of self-report handicap measures with adults in that audiometric measures alone are insufficient in describing a patient's reaction to their hearing loss.