Analysis of SSQ17 questionnaire results over time in hearing aid-wearing individuals

Introduction The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of responses to the German short form of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ17) over time in individuals with hearing aids.

Materials and Methods As part of additional research funded by the BMBF 12 individuals with hearing aids completed the SSQ17 questionnaire at approximately 12-week intervals. The analysis considered individual responses as well as the means of SSQ1 (Speech Hearing), SSQ2 (Spatial Hearing), SSQ3 (Qualities of Hearing), and an overall mean of all 17 questions. For statistical analysis a paired T-test was conducted.

Results After approximately 12 weeks, the answers to all questions, except question 5, were significantly different (each with p<0.05). The minimum deviation was 0.3 for the first additional question (Question 16), and the maximum deviation was 2.7 for the second additional question (Question 17). The mean deviations of the means were 0.9 for SSQ1 (p<0.0001), 0.8 for SSQ2 (p<0.001), and 1.3 for SSQ3 (p<0.05). The overall mean of all questions deviated by 0.7 after approximately 12 weeks (p<0.001).

Discussion Although responses to the SSQ17 questionnaire differed statistically significantly in this small sample of 12 participants after 12 weeks, an average deviation of only 0.7 on a scale of 0 to 10 can be interpreted as consistent response behavior. As expected, the formation of means mitigates variations over time. Based on these findings, we consider the responses to the SSQ17 questionnaire by hearing aid-wearing individuals over a period of approximately 3 months to be reproducible, with an expected fluctuation of approximately 1 in the mean.

Funding information BMBF

Publication History

Article published online:
19 April 2024