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NIH Toolbox Hearing Handicap Inventory Supplemental Measure (HHI-SM)
Availability

Please visit this website for more information about this instrument: NIH Toolbox website
Classification

Supplemental: Acute Hospitalized, Concussion/Mild TBI, Epidemiology, Moderate/Severe TBI: Rehabilitation Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Short Description of Instrument

The NIH Toolbox Hearing Handicap Inventory Supplemental Measure (HHI-SM) is the screening version of the 25-item Hearing Handicap Inventory (HHI); there are different versions for adults (18 – 64) and the elderly (ages 65 – 85). These inventories focus on how a person perceives the social and emotional effects of hearing loss on their daily life (Demers, 2013; Ventry & Weinstein, 1983; Zecker et al., 2013). The HHI-SM is a 10-item self-report measure of hearing-related disability that has been widely used in hearing research.
This test can be administered to participants ages 18 and older, and requires approximately three minutes to administer. There is an emotional subscale and a social/situational subscale.
Scoring
Scoring: Total Points 0 – 40
NO = 0 points Sometimes = 2 points YES = 4 points
0 (no handicap) to 40 (maximum handicap)
Score interpretation:
0 – 8 suggests no hearing handicap
10 – 24 suggests mild-to moderate hearing handicap 26 – 40 suggests significant hearing handicap
Refer for additional hearing evaluation if score is = 10 points
References
Key Reference:  Ventry, I. M., & Weinstein, B. E. (1983). Identification of elderly people with hearing problems. ASHA, 25(7), 37-42.
 
Demers, K. (2013). Hearing Screening in Older Adults. Try This:® Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults, (Issue 12). Retrieved from Hartford Institute Website website: https://consultgeri.org/try-this/general-assessment/issue-12.pdf.
 
Newman, C. W., & Weinstein, B. E. (1988). The Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly as a measure of hearing aid benefit. Ear Hear, 9(2), 81-85.
 
Newman, C. W., & Weinstein, B. E. (1989). Test-retest reliability of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly using two administration approaches. Ear Hear, 10(3), 190-191.
 
Newman, C. W., Weinstein, B. E., Jacobson, G. P., & Hug, G. A. (1990). The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults: psychometric adequacy and audiometric correlates. Ear Hear, 11(6), 430-433.
 
Newman, C. W., Weinstein, B. E., Jacobson, G. P., & Hug, G. A. (1991). Test-retest reliability of the hearing handicap inventory for adults. Ear Hear, 12(5), 355-357.
 
Ventry, I. M., & Weinstein, B. E. (1982). The hearing handicap inventory for the elderly: a new tool. Ear Hear, 3(3), 128-134.
 
Ventry, I. M., & Weinstein, B. E. (1983). Identification of elderly people with hearing problems. ASHA, 25(7), 37-42.
 
Weinstein, B. E., Spitzer, J. B., & Ventry, I. M. (1986). Test-retest reliability of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly. Ear Hear, 7(5), 295-299.
 
Zecker, S. G., Hoffman, H. J., Frisina, R., Dubno, J. R., Dhar, S., Wallhagen, M.,  Kraus, N., Griffith, J.W., Walton, J.P., Eddins, D.A., Newman, C., Victorson, D., Warrier, C.M., &. Wilson, R. H. (2013). Audition assessment using the NIH Toolbox. Neurology, 80(11 Suppl 3), S45-48..

 

Document last updated April 2020