PURPOSE: to check the relations between self-perceived hearing handicap (participation restriction), audiometric findings and socio-demographic data in hearing impaired adults and compare the results between men and women. METHODS: 113 adults with post lingual sensorineural bilateral hearing loss of varying degrees took part in the study. The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA) was applied in the interview format. We obtained the correlation coefficient between total HHIA as well as the "social" one and "emotional" subscales scores with the mean audiometric thresholds (ISO, low, medium and high frequencies) and speech recognition thresholds (SRT). The HHIA scores were also correlated with the duration of deafness, educational level and socio-economic status. The HHIA scores between men and women were compared by means of the Student t test. RESULTS: weak but significant correlations were obtained between audiometric data and HHIA scores. There was no correlation between duration of deafness, educational level and socioeconomic status with HHIA scores. There was no significant difference in scores between men and women. CONCLUSION: data from this study reinforce the need for using an instrument for evaluating the participation restriction, since it cannot be inferred from the audiometric data and/or socio-demographic factors.
Hearing; Hearing Loss; Questionnaires; Audiometry
