What Can We Learn about Auditory Processing from Adult Hearing Questionnaires?

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Neuroscience
• Speech and Hearing Sciences

Background:

• Auditory disability questionnaires aid in identifying and quantifying symptoms in adults with hearing difficulties.
• Assessing listening difficulties in adults with normal audiograms is crucial for understanding auditory processing disorders (APD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ), Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability (mAIAD), and Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HYP) in adults with normal audiograms.
• To identify specific questionnaire items that best indicate auditory processing disorder (APD) in clinical populations.

Main Methods:

• A prospective correlational analysis study was conducted.
• Questionnaires (SSQ, mAIAD, HYP) were administered to 58 clinical participants with listening difficulties and 30 normal controls.
• Clinical participants were classified as having APD (N=39) or non-APD (N=19) based on audiological test results.

Main Results:

• The SSQ, mAIAD, and HYP showed strong correlations with each other.
• Clinical APD and non-APD groups scored significantly worse on all questionnaires compared to normal controls.
• Worse-scored items predominantly related to speech-in-noise perception and cognitive listening aspects like listening effort.

Conclusions:

• Hearing questionnaires are valuable tools for assessing symptoms in adults with APD.
• While overlapping with hearing-impaired listeners, adults with APD present distinct listening difficulties.
• Temporal processing deficits, particularly in gaps-in-noise and duration patterns, correlate with questionnaire scores, highlighting their role in APD.