Practical method for quantifying hearing aid benefit in older adults

Self-assessment handicap scales are gaining recognition as objective measures of audiologic intervention, including benefit derived from hearing aid use. A short form of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE-S) comprised of 10 items (5 emotional and 5 social/situational) was administered to 91 new hearing aid users prior to and 3 weeks following hearing aid provision. A significant reduction in perceived emotional and social/situational effects of hearing impairment was observed following this brief interval of hearing aid use. The magnitude of hearing aid benefit was not affected by pure-tone sensitivity or word recognition ability. Further, a 95 percent confidence interval was established for the HHIE-S (9.3 points) in order to determine a true change in self-perceived handicap and pre- and post-hearing aid fitting for a given subject. Our findings support the use of the HHIE-S as an expedient approach for quantifying hearing aid benefit in a busy clinical practice.