"The measurement of hearing handicap" revisited: a 20-year perspective

Interest in the development of self-assessment instruments to measure the handicapping effect of hearing difficulty has grown in the last 20 years. Numerous paper and pencil instruments are now available which vary in purpose, design, and psychometric underpinings. This paper discusses the status of the self-assessment approach in clinical audiology, presents a point of view regarding some of the factors contributing to this status and proposes some frontiers still open to self-assessment instruments in the assessment of hearing handicap.