Comparison of Long and Short Versions of Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale in Kannada for Parents of Children with Impaired Hearing

Abstract

The present study aimed to compare the long and short versions of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale – Parent version (SSQ-P) in Kannada, to evaluate their effectiveness in capturing parental perspectives on children’s hearing abilities. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether the short version (SSQ-P10-K) retained the psychometric strength of the long version (SSQ-P-K), while offering a more time-efficient alternative for use in clinical and research settings. To facilitate this comparison, the long version of SSQ-P was translated into Kannada, while the existing short version developed by Thejaswini and Geetha (2023) was used. In order to understand the impact of hearing amplification, parental perspectives between two groups i.e. children using hearing aids (HAs) and those using cochlear implants (CIs) was done. A survey-based design was employed, involving 100 parents of children with sensorineural hearing loss. Group I consisted of 50 parents of children using hearing aids (HAs), and Group II included 50 parents of children using cochlear implants (CIs). All participants were native Kannada speakers and met strict inclusion criteria, including consistent device use, early identification and intervention, and enrollment in aural rehabilitation for at least 3 months. Parents of children with additional disabilities were excluded. Both SSQ-P-K and SSQ-P10-K were administered, and statistical analyses were conducted to assess internal consistency, item-level comparisons between the two versions, and group differences across CI and HA users. High test-retest reliability was observed for both versions (Cronbach’s α > .90). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests revealed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the parental ratings (both CI and HA) between corresponding items of the two versions, supporting their comparability. On short version, SSQ-P10-K, Mann–Whitney U tests showed no significant group differences between CI and HA users on either version. However, on long version SSQ-P-K, Mann–Whitney U tests showed parents of children using HAs reported higher difficulties than those using CI on 6/23 questions. Correlation analyses showed significant associations between SSQ-P-K scores and therapy duration, duration of deafness and, child’s age at diagnosis. Findings support the use of both SSQ-P-K and SSQ-P10-K as valid, reliable tools for assessing children's functional hearing from a parental perspective. Although the use of shorter version, is sufficient to gauge parental views of child’s difficulties within a group (CI or HA), longer version helps better understand inter-group differences.