Measuring Recovery in Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Tinnitus Patients in a Mental Health Care Setting: Validation of the I.ROC.
Karin C M Roze, Corrie Tijsseling, Bridey Rudd and 1 others
PMID 31799612WHAT IT FOUND
The I.ROC recovery questionnaire worked well for tinnitus and late-onset hearing loss patients in mental health care.
It did not prove accessible for early-onset deaf patients, many of whom dropped out because they found the other long test too difficult to finish.
Key findings
01The I.ROC showed good internal consistency and high correlation with the Recovery Assessment Scale in the total sample.
02I.ROC scores consistently increased over 9 months, indicating sensitivity to positive change in recovery, while other measures showed mixed trends.
03A significant portion of early-onset deaf patients dropped out because they could not complete the preceding long questionnaire, leaving the I.ROC's accessibility for this specific group untested.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
High dropout rate in the early-onset deaf subgroup due to the burden of preceding questionnaires, meaning the I.ROC was not actually completed by many of these patients. The study design required standardized self-report, preventing the use of interpreters or ad hoc explanations during testing, which likely disadvantaged patients with language difficulties. Small sample sizes prevented reliable analysis of specific subgroups (e.g., mood disorder vs. anxiety). The Functional Remission Scale (FRS) was found to be unsuitable for this population due to a ceiling effect where most patients already functioned independently.
Declared interests
No specific funding or conflict of interest declarations were provided in the text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the I.ROC is accessible for all deaf patients. The study could not test its usability in the early-onset deaf group because most dropped out before reaching it. It is currently validated for tinnitus and later-life hearing loss patients, but requires a conversational approach and further study for those with limited spoken Dutch literacy.