Hearing and Functioning in Everyday Life Questionnaire: Psychometric evaluation and revision

Karlsson, E., Manchaiah, V., Mäki-Torkko, E., Granberg, S., Gustafsson, J., & Widén, S.
American Journal of Audiology, 33(2), 330-342. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-23-00171
Publication year: 2024

Objective: The aim of the current study was to explore the construct validity and the internal consistency reliability of the original English version of the Hearing and Functioning in Everyday Life Questionnaire (HFEQ).

Design: This study used a cross-sectional survey design. The data were collected by using an online survey.

Study sample: Adults with self-reported hearing disability (n=513) from the United States were included.

Results: Principal component analysis yielded a six-factor structure that explained 59% of the variance. The six factors were as follows: hearing and communication, social interactions, cognitive functions, hearing facilitators, additional health conditions interfering with hearing loss and supportive functions. Cronbach’s alpha for the full scale was 0.91. Based on the results of a previous qualitative validation and the results of the current study HFEQ were revised.

Conclusion: The results of the current study suggested that the English version of the HFEQ has satisfactory construct validity. The overall HFEQ has satisfactory internal consistency reliability even though some factors had lower levels of reliability. The revised version of HFEQ includes minor changes in wording, two items were removed, and one item were added to strengthen the validity and reliability even more.