Hearing Disability Measured by the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale in Clinically Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Middle-Aged Persons, and Disability Screening by Means of a Reduced SSQ (the SSQ5)

Abstract

: The results of this study suggest that disability measures and measures for hearing impairment cannot replace each other, but are complementary. Therefore, it is advised to implement both disability measures and impairment measures in screening and referral policies for hearing loss. To get a first impression of hearing disability, our results suggest that it is useful to ask five disability questions (SSQ5) instead of one general question like "Do you have hearing loss?"