A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale)

OBJECTIVE: The speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing questionnaire (SSQ) is a self-report test of auditory disability. The 49 items ask how well a listener would do in many complex listening situations illustrative of real life. The scores on the items are often combined into the three main s...

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Main Authors: Akeroyd, Michael A., Guy, Fiona H., Harrison, Dawn L., Suller, Sharon L.
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50842/
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author Akeroyd, Michael A.
Guy, Fiona H.
Harrison, Dawn L.
Suller, Sharon L.
author_facet Akeroyd, Michael A.
Guy, Fiona H.
Harrison, Dawn L.
Suller, Sharon L.
author_sort Akeroyd, Michael A.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description OBJECTIVE: The speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing questionnaire (SSQ) is a self-report test of auditory disability. The 49 items ask how well a listener would do in many complex listening situations illustrative of real life. The scores on the items are often combined into the three main sections or into 10 pragmatic subscales. We report here a factor analysis of the SSQ that we conducted to further investigate its statistical properties and to determine its structure. DESIGN: Statistical factor analysis of questionnaire data, using parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to retain, oblique rotation of factors, and a bootstrap method to estimate the confidence intervals. STUDY SAMPLE: 1220 people who have attended MRC IHR over the last decade. RESULTS: We found three clear factors, essentially corresponding to the three main sections of the SSQ. They are termed "speech understanding", "spatial perception", and "clarity, separation, and identification". Thirty-five of the SSQ questions were included in the three factors. There was partial evidence for a fourth factor, "effort and concentration", representing two more questions. CONCLUSIONS: These results aid in the interpretation and application of the SSQ and indicate potential methods for generating average scores.
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spelling nottingham-508422020-05-04T16:40:46Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50842/ A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale) Akeroyd, Michael A. Guy, Fiona H. Harrison, Dawn L. Suller, Sharon L. OBJECTIVE: The speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing questionnaire (SSQ) is a self-report test of auditory disability. The 49 items ask how well a listener would do in many complex listening situations illustrative of real life. The scores on the items are often combined into the three main sections or into 10 pragmatic subscales. We report here a factor analysis of the SSQ that we conducted to further investigate its statistical properties and to determine its structure. DESIGN: Statistical factor analysis of questionnaire data, using parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to retain, oblique rotation of factors, and a bootstrap method to estimate the confidence intervals. STUDY SAMPLE: 1220 people who have attended MRC IHR over the last decade. RESULTS: We found three clear factors, essentially corresponding to the three main sections of the SSQ. They are termed "speech understanding", "spatial perception", and "clarity, separation, and identification". Thirty-five of the SSQ questions were included in the three factors. There was partial evidence for a fourth factor, "effort and concentration", representing two more questions. CONCLUSIONS: These results aid in the interpretation and application of the SSQ and indicate potential methods for generating average scores. Taylor & Francis 2014-02-01 Article PeerReviewed Akeroyd, Michael A., Guy, Fiona H., Harrison, Dawn L. and Suller, Sharon L. (2014) A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale). International Journal of Audiology, 53 (2). pp. 101-114. ISSN 1708-8186 Psychoacoustics/hearing science behavioral measures hearing aids speech perception https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/14992027.2013.824115 doi:10.3109/14992027.2013.824115 doi:10.3109/14992027.2013.824115
spellingShingle Psychoacoustics/hearing science
behavioral measures
hearing aids
speech perception
Akeroyd, Michael A.
Guy, Fiona H.
Harrison, Dawn L.
Suller, Sharon L.
A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale)
title A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale)
title_full A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale)
title_fullStr A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale)
title_full_unstemmed A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale)
title_short A factor analysis of the SSQ (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale)
title_sort factor analysis of the ssq (speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale)
topic Psychoacoustics/hearing science
behavioral measures
hearing aids
speech perception
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50842/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50842/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50842/