Rapid Assessment of Subjective Hearing Complaints With a Modified Version of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey.
Alyssa Davidson, Gregory Ellis, LaGuinn P Sherlock and 2 others
PMID 37822285WHAT IT FOUND
A modified four-item hearing survey takes about 20 seconds to complete.
It separates subjective hearing complaints by hearing profile, with a score of 27 or higher on the 40-point scale flagging difficulty beyond the normal range.
Key findings
01The modified four-item hearing survey takes an average of about 20 seconds to complete, addressing time constraints in clinical appointments.
02Subjective hearing complaints increase systematically with hearing loss severity, with median scores rising from 5 for normal hearing to 25 for the most impaired profile.
03A cutoff score of 27 on the 40-point scale identifies individuals with normal hearing thresholds who report subjective difficulty beyond the 95th percentile of their peers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The normative data come from US Service Members, a population that is younger, predominantly male, and more likely to be exposed to hazardous noise than the general civilian population. The study used a modified 11-point scale rather than the original 5-point scale, requiring conversion for existing clinical data. The cross-sectional design cannot track how scores change over time or in response to intervention.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The work was supported by the Defense Health Program, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Joint Program Committee.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the 27-point cutoff applies universally to civilian populations without verification, as the normative data were derived exclusively from US Service Members who differ in age, sex, and noise exposure history from the general public.