Psychometric properties of the hearing handicap questionnaire: a Kannada (South-Indian) translation

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of the Hearing Handicap Questionnaire (HHQ) in Kannada (a South-Indian language) among adults with hearing loss. Design: The study involved a cross-sectional survey design. Participants provided demographic details and completed the Kannada and English (original) version of the HHQ questionnaire. To evaluate test-retest reliability, ～50% of the participants completed the Kannada version for the second time after 15 days. Study sample: The sample comprised 103 adults with hearing loss recruited from local audiology clinics. Results: Exploratory factor analysis indicated a one-factor structure, which explained 71% of the variance in Kannada-HHQ scores. The internal consistency measured with Cronbach’s alpha was 0.96. The test-retest reliability correlations of the Kannada version with the English and with the same Kannada version re-administered after 15 days were 0.96 and 0.91, respectively. Convergent validity of the scale was confirmed by significant correlations with the Participation Scale and the Assessment of Quality of Life scales. Discriminant validity was found to be low as all the Kannada-HHQ questions were highly correlated with each other (r>?0.60). No floor and ceiling effects were identified. Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the Kannada-HHQ scale are considered to be adequate for clinical or research use.