International outcome inventory for hearing aids (IOI-HA): results from the Chinese version.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to present normative data on the Chinese version of the international outcome inventory for hearing aids (IOI-HA) and examine the effectiveness of the hearing aid service.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. The IOI-HA was administered in a paper and pencil format.

STUDY SAMPLE: The IOI-HA and self-designed questionnaire were mailed to 1502 experienced hearing-aid users who received their hearing aids from 14 hearing service centers in mainland China. In all, 1049 completed responses were included in the final analysis, and descriptive statistics were reported.

RESULTS: The mean scores of each item of the IOI-HA ranged from 3.55 to 4.16. The IOI-HA scores showed a skewed distribution, with the maximum frequency for a score of 4 or 5. The total IOI-HA scores ranged from 9 to 35, and the mean total score was 26.3. The results compared favorably with the previous reports, and slightly higher than the published norms, indicating a high level of self-reported outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: The IOI-HA could be used as an effective tool to measure the general effectiveness of the hearing aid outcomes in China. The implementation of the IOI-HA is time-efficient, imposing little burden on the clinician and patient.