ICF-based hearing and functioning assessment: validation and research outcomes of utilizing the HEAR-COMMAND tool for patients with mild to moderately severe hearing loss and individuals with normal hearing.
Tahereh Afghah, Razan Alfakir, Markus Meis and 5 others
PMID 39253024WHAT IT FOUND
The HEAR-COMMAND tool reliably captures hearing and daily functioning challenges across English, German, and Arabic speakers.
It identifies communication difficulties in noisy environments that standard audiometry often misses, offering therapists a comprehensive view of patient-reported disability beyond pure tone thresholds.
Key findings
01The tool demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ~0.9) across hearing-related, non-hearing-related, and combined item sets.
02Exploratory factor analysis grouped items into seven distinct domains, including auditory processing, listening in noise, and social/environmental factors, confirming the tool captures multidimensional disability.
03Normal-hearing participants had significantly different speech perception and hearing-related scores compared to both unaided and aided hearing-impaired groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study did not include individuals with severe to profound hearing loss or cochlear implant users, so the tool's performance in these groups is unknown. The sample distribution was unbalanced regarding hearing loss severity among aided and unaided participants, limiting direct comparisons between these groups. The study was cross-sectional and did not assess the tool's sensitivity to change over time, which is needed to evaluate treatment efficacy. Floor effects were present for many body function and activity items, meaning the scale may not discriminate well among individuals with very mild difficulties.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the tool is validated for patients with severe to profound hearing loss or cochlear implant users, as these groups were excluded from the study. Additionally, the presence of floor effects means the tool may not accurately distinguish between individuals with no difficulty and those with very mild difficulties.