Utility of a Questionnaire Short Form for Adolescents with Listening Difficulties in Japan

Abstract

Background: A short and easy questionnaire is needed to identify symptoms of listening difficulties (LiD) at an early stage. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of such a questionnaire for adolescents with and without LiD. Methods: We included adolescents with and without LiD and adults without LiD in this study. We utilized a questionnaire designed for individuals with LiD, which combined the Speech, Spatial, and Quality of Hearing scales (SSQ)-12 and four additional psychological items. From this, we selected three items that exhibited the largest differences between adolescents with and without LiD. We subsequently examined the relationship between the total scores of all items and the three selected items to develop the short questionnaire. Results: The responses of adolescents to the questionnaire were consistent with those of adults. The total scores from the three selected items exhibited a strong correlation with the overall questionnaire score for adolescents both with and without LiD, indicating their potential for identifying LiD symptoms. Conclusions: The wide implementation of the short questionnaire developed in this study could lead to the early detection of potential LiD symptoms and timely intervention.

Keywords

• listening difficulties
• auditory processing disorder
• listening problem
• questionnaire
• screening
• adolescent