Development of a self-report tool to evaluate hearing aid outcomes among Chinese speakers

This article reports on the development of a self-report tool-the Chinese Hearing Aid Outcomes Questionnaire (CHAOQ)-to evaluate hearing aid outcomes among Chinese speakers.

There were 4 phases to construct the CHAOQ and evaluate its psychometric properties. First, items were selected to evaluate a range of culturally relevant outcomes. These procedures provided evidence for face and content validity. Second, items with inappropriate psychometric properties were eliminated. Items related to listening performance were subjected to exploratory factor analysis to identify the factor structure, which was later confirmed via a confirmatory factor analysis in Phase III. These procedures also ensured content and discriminant validity. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated, and normative data were obtained. Finally, test-retest reliability was evaluated, and construct validity was established by comparing results with corresponding items from the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids.

The final 26-item CHAOQ contains (a) 3 scales evaluating speech understanding in situations in which communication is relatively more difficult or easy or includes reduced listening cues; (b) a scale evaluating listening comfort; (c) a scale measuring negative responses; and (d) an item measuring overall satisfaction.

The CHAOQ possesses good reliability and validity.