• Mohammad B Alkhodair, Tamer A Mesallam, Abdulrahman Hagr, and Medhat F Yousef.
• From the Audiology Unit (Alkhodair), King Salman Armed Forces Hospital, Tabuk, from the Research Chair of Voice, Swallowing, and Communication Disorders (Mesallam), Otolaryngology Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University; from King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center (Hagr, Yousef), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and from the Audiology Unit (Yousef), Otolaryngology Department, College of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin Alkoum, Egypt.
• Saudi Med J. 2021 Nov 1; 42 (11): 1180-1185.

ObjectivesTo translate and validate the short form of the speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale (SSQ12). This will help in the assessment of hearing disability in the daily life of hearing-impaired populations, as well as the improvement of their quality of life.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted at the King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between April and June 2021. The study included 102 hearing-impaired participants as the patient group and 84 normal-hearing participants as the control group. The English SSQ12 was translated according to the International Quality of Life Assessment method. Internal consistency and reliability of the Arabic SSQ12 were then assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α) and test-retest reliability. Discriminant validity was also assessed by comparing the patients' scores with the control participants.ResultsThe overall internal consistency of the Arabic SSQ12 was excellent (α=0.9), with good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.8). There was a significant difference between the Arabic SSQ12 scores of the patient and control groups (p<0.0001).ConclusionThe Arabic version of the SSQ12 appears to be a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess the communication ability of hearing-impaired patients in audiology clinics.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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