OBJECTIVE: To validate a French version of the speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale (SSQ), a subjective evaluation of patients' hearing disability, and to assess SSQ reproducibility across different language versions.
DESIGN: The SSQ was translated in accordance with the principles of the 'Universalist approach' of cross-cultural adaptation of patient-reported outcome instruments. Scores from a normal-hearing and a hearing-impaired population were compiled and compared, whenever possible, with data from the literature, collected using other language versions.
STUDY SAMPLE: One hundred normal-hearing subjects and 230 hearing-impaired subjects.
RESULTS: Good reproducibility of scores and inter-subject variability were obtained between several language versions, even if scores found using the French version were slightly lower than those obtained using Dutch or English versions. A comparison of factor analysis outcomes between the English and French versions confirmed good conceptual equivalence across languages and robustness of the SSQ for use in international settings. The three main subscales (speech, spatial, and qualities) confirmed their usefulness in assessing different aspects of hearing disability.
CONCLUSION: This study validated a French-language version of the SSQ, and assessed the reproducibility of the SSQ across subject groups, administration modes, and different countries/languages, confirming its potential as an international standard for hearing disability evaluation.