Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Distribution of Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities Scale scores by participant’s sex (N = 1,160 participants).
- Figure 2.
ROC curve for HDDA Scale in detecting hearing loss in older adults (N = 1,160 patients).
ROC = receiver operating characteristic; HDDA = Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities.
Tables
Characteristic No. (%) Age, years 65–74 754 (65.0) 75–96 406 (35.0) Sex Male 512 (44.1) Female 648 (55.9) Marital status Married 896 (77.2) Single, widowed, divorced 264 (22.8) Level of education Illiterate 56 (4.8) Functionally illiterate 730 (62.9) Primary education 283 (24.4) Middle and higher education 91 (7.9) Morbidity No chronic illnesses 442 (38.1) 1 or more chronic illnesses 718 (61.9) Medication No medication 114 (9.8) Daily use of 1 or more drugs 1,046 (90.2) - Table 2.
Distribution of Responses to Questions Contained in the Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities Scale (N=1,160 Participants)
No. Questions Always No. (%) Occasionally No. (%) Never No. (%) No Response No. (%) 1. Have you noticed that you don’t hear as well as you used to? 240 (20.7) 468 (40.3) 452 (39.0) 0 (0.0) 2. Has anybody told you that you don’t hear well? 153 (13.2) 480 (41.4) 526 (45.3) 1 (0.1) 3. Does your family tell you that you turn up the volume of the television or radio very loudly? 204 (17.6) 307 (26.5) 648 (55.9) 1 (0.1) 4. When you’re talking to someone, do you have to ask the person to speak louder? 67 (5.8) 357 (30.8) 734 (63.4) 2 (0.2) 5. When you’re talking to someone, do you have to ask the person to repeat what they’re saying various times? 64 (5.5) 417 (36.0) 677 (58.5) 2 (0.2) No, I Can’t No. (%) With Some Difficulty No. (%) Yes, Without Difficulty No. (%) No Response No. (%) 6. Can you understand when someone is speaking to you in a low voice? 91 (7.8) 386 (33.3) 683 (58.9) 0 (0.0) 7. Can you understand when someone is speaking to you on the telephone? 8 (0.7) 106 (9.1) 1045 (90.2) 1 (0.1) 8. Can you hear the sound of a coin dropping on the floor? 19 (1.6) 117 (10.1) 1024 (88.3) 0 (0.0) 9. Can you hear the sound of a door closing? 10 (0.9) 96 (8.3) 1054 (90.9) 0 (0.0) 10. Can you hear when someone approaches you from behind? 29 (2.5) 186 (16.0) 944 (81.4) 1 (0.1) 11. Can you hear when someone is speaking to you in a noisy setting such as a pub or restaurant? 76 (6.6) 447 (38.6) 635 (54.7) 2 (0.2) 12. Can you hold a conversation in a group setting when several people are speaking at the same time? 77 (6.6) 436 (37.7) 645 (5.7) 2 (0.2) - Table 3.
Loadings Obtained for the Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities Scale Items in the Factor Analysis
Dimensions (Factors) Load Percent Variance 1. Questions objectifying hearing loss and social interaction 38.78 Have you noticed that you don’t hear as well as you used to? 0.774 Has anybody told you that you don’t hear well? 0.741 Does your family tell you that you turn up the volume of the television or radio very loudly? 0.695 When you’re talking to someone, do you have to ask the person to speak louder? 0.771 When you’re talking to someone, do you have to ask the person to repeat what they’re saying various times? 0.803 Can you understand when someone is speaking to you in a low voice? 0.689 Can you hear when someone is speaking to you in a noisy setting such as a pub or restaurant? 0.688 Can you hold a conversation in a group setting when several people are speaking at the same time? 0.682 2. Perception of basic sounds 26.68 Can you understand when someone is speaking to you on the telephone? 0.772 Can you hear the sound of a coin dropping on the floor? 0.854 Can you hear the sound of a door closing? 0.846 Can you hear when someone approaches you from behind? 0.749 - Table 4.
Test Characteristics of the Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities Scale According to Cutoff Point (N=1,160 Patients)
Cutoff Point Sensitivity (95% CI) Specificity (95% CI) Positive Predictive Value (95% CI) Negative Predictive Value (95% CI) Positive Probability Quotient (95% CI) Negative Probability Quotient (95% CI) 18/19 64.9 (60.6–68.9) 81.4 (78.2–84.2) 72.9 (68.6–76.8) 75.0 (71.7–78.1) 3.48 (2.93–4.14) 0.43 (0.38–0.49) 19/20 73.1 (69.0–76.8) 76.2 (72.7–79.3) 70.2 (66.2–74.0) 78.6 (75.2–81.6) 3.06 (2.64–3.55) 0.35 (0.30–0.41 20/21 80.0 (76.3–83.3) 70.2 (66.5–73.5) 67.4 (63.5–71.0) 82.0 (78.6–85.0) 2.68 (2.36–3.04) 0.28 (0.24–0.34) 21/22 85.8 (82.5–88.6) 60.8 (57.0–64.4) 62.8 (59.1–66.3) 84.8 (81.2–87.7) 2.19 (1.98–2.42) 0.23 (0.19–0.29) 22/23 90.4 (87.5–92.7) 47.5 (43.7–51.4) 57.1 (53.6–60.5) 86.6 (82.6–89.7) 1.72 (1.59–1.86) 0.20 (0.15–0.27)
Supplemental Appendixes
Supplemental Appendix 1. The Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities (HDDA) Scale; Supplemental Appendix 2. The Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities (HDDA) Scale in Spanish
Files in this Data Supplement:
- Supplemental data: Appendix 1 - PDF file, 1 page, 111 KB
- Supplemental data: Appendix 2 - PDF file, 1 page, 108 KB
The Article in Brief
The Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities Scale to Evaluate Impact of Hearing Loss in Older People
Jes�s L�pez-Torres Hidalgo , and colleagues
Background Up to 25% of persons between the ages of 65 and 75 years have undiagnosed hearing loss. This article describes the design and testing of the HDDA (Hearing-Dependent Daily Activities) Scale. The scale identifies the impact of hearing loss on daily life in older persons by measuring their ability to carry out hearing-dependent activities.
What This Study Found The HDDA Scale is a useful tool for detecting hearing loss in older people, a condition which frequently goes unnoticed during routine medical check-ups.
Implications
- Early detection of hearing loss can reduce its impact on the functioning and social behavior of older people.
- Only 20% of primary care doctors use a screening tool to identify hearing disorders. The HDDA Scale can help fill the need for an easy-to-use tool in clinical practice.
