Working Paper No.3 Add.5
11 November 2005
STATISTICAL COMMISSION and STATISTICAL OFFICE OF THEUN ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPEAN COMMUNITIESEUROPE (EUROSTAT)
CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN WORLD HEALTHSTATISTICIANS ORGANIZATION (WHO)
Joint UNECE/WHO/Eurostat Meetingon the Measurement of Health Status (Budapest, Hungary, 14-16 November 2005)
Session 3 – Invited paper
Hearing
Jennifer MadansNational Center for Health Statistics, U.S.A
Hearing
Concept: Ability to distinguish sounds Related but not equivalent to understanding and
communicating Hearing ability/loss can vary by –
The loudness of the sound The pitch of the sound The level and nature of background noise Availability of visual cues
Specification of activity within the domain: Attempt to standardize stimuli by specifying the above
dimensions either directly or indirectly
Proposed Items for Measuring Hearing
One option is to use the questions from the European Health Status Module: Can you distinctly hear what is said in a conversation
with several people without a hearing aid or other aids for hearing? Yes/No
If no: Can you distinctly hear what is said in a conversation with several people with a hearing aid? Yes/No/Has no hearing aids
If yes: skip next question Can you distinctly hear what is said in a conversation
with one person without a hearing aid? Yes/No If no: Can you distinctly hear what is said in a
conversation with one person with a hearing aid? Yes/No/Has no hearing aids
Hearing: Characteristics of Proposal Questions
Filter Question: Not used
Assistive Devices: Functioning ability obtained with and without hearing
aids if used Recall period/chronicity
Not specified Response categories:
Yes/No Severity:
Measured through ‘task’ – ability to hear in a conversation with several people vs. one person
Alternative Question Set Questions about hearing aid use (Without a hearing aid) Can….usually hear what a person says
without seeing his face if he whispers to….from across a quiet room?
(Without a hearing aid) Can….usually hear what a person says without seeing his face if he talks in a normal voice to….from across a quiet room?
(Without a hearing aid) Can….usually hear what a person says without seeing his face if he shouts to….from across a quiet room?
(Without a hearing aid) Can….usually hear what a person says if he speaks loudly into……’s better ear?
(Without a hearing aid) Can …..usually tell the sound of speech from other sounds and noises?
(Without a hearing aid) Can….usually tell one kind of noise from another?
(Without a hearing aid) Can….hear loud noise?