BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sine a self-reported questionnaire for hearing-impaired listeners is not available by Malay language yet, it is important to develop or translate any available existing questionnaires. The aim of this study was to translate, adapt and validate the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adult (HHIA) to be used by the audiologist among the hearing-impaired population in Malaysia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The HHIAs was translated to Malay language using forward-backward translation techniques by four-panellists (two for each level). The translated HHIA was then reconciled and harmonized for cultural aspects and content of the questionnaire by the researchers and two expert panels before being pilot-tested among 10 hearing-impaired patients. Questionnaire validation was conducted among 80 adults with a hearing loss to calculate for Cronbach’s α (internal reliability), Spearman’s correlation (inter-item correlation) and factor analysis. RESULTS: None of the translated items were removed from the scale. The overall Cronbach’s α was 0.964; 0.927 and 0.934 for both social and emotional subscales, respectively. The factor analysis (force-concept inventory) demonstrated a two-structure with a strong correlation between all items in either component 1 or 2, that resembled the original scale. The Mann-Whitney test revealed significantly higher scores for those adults with a hearing loss than those adults with normal hearing. CONCLUSIONS: The Malay HHIA has been successfully translated and validated for the purpose of determining the psychosocial aspects of adults with hearing loss in the local population.
Adult ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing ; Humans ; Malaysia

Introduction: This paper describes the development and the evaluation of a new Two-dimensional (2D) computer-based (CB) Simulated Learning Environment (SLE) software for routine audiology tests that comes with learning assistance for audiology students. The aim of the study was to serve as preliminary evaluation on the effectiveness of the new 2D CB SLE audiology software among audiology students. Materials and Methods: The development process of the new 2D CB SLE includes, (i) the identification of common errors made by students in the audiology clinic, (ii) the development of five case simulations that include four routine audiology tests incorporating learning assistance derived from the errors commonly made by audiology students and, (iii) the development of 2D CB SLE from a technical perspective. A preliminary evaluation of the use of the 2D CB SLE software was conducted among twenty-six second-year undergraduate audiology students. Results: The pre-analysis evaluation of the new 2D CB SLE showed that the majority of the students perceived the new 2D CB SLE software as realistic and helpful for them in achieving the course learning outcomes and in improving their clinical skills. The mean overall scores among the twenty-six students using the self-reported questionnaire were significantly higher when using the 2D CB SLE software than with the existing software typically used in their SLE training. Conclusions: This new 2D CB SLE software has the potential for use by audiology students for enhancing their learning.