INTRODUCTION: This study aims to examine the factors associated with self-reported hearing disability and early reduction in disability after first-time hearing aid (HA) fitting in Singapore. METHODS: Retrospective record review of 1,068 subjects issued with HAs at a tertiary hospital from 2001 to 2013. RESULTS: Subjects reporting ≥5 disabilities reduced from 90% to 24% after HA fitting. 'Difficulty hearing in noise' was the commonest disability before and after HA fitting, while 'needs to increase volume of TV/radio' was the disability with most improvement after fitting. In multivariable models, having worse pure tone audiometry (PTA) thresholds of the better hearing ear and being ethnically Chinese were associated with subjects reporting more hearing disabilities. A higher proportion of subjects reported a reduction rather than an absence of disability after HA fitting. In multivariable models, daily HA usage for ≥4 hours, sensorineural hearing loss (HL) and worse PTA thresholds of the better hearing ear were associated with reduction in more disabilities after HA fitting. CONCLUSION Hearing disability is high among first-time HA users in Singapore. Ethnicity and PTA thresholds were associated with self-reported hearing disability. After HA fitting, higher daily HA usage, sensorineural HL, and worse PTA thresholds of the better hearing ear were associated with early reduction in disability. Patient counselling on the benefits of HL rehabilitation could focus on hearing disability rather than PTA thresholds. The management of patients' expectations could focus on reducing rather than eliminating disability.

INTRODUCTION: The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) is a validated, objective assessment of functional status. It is widely used in rehabilitation centres but may not be practical for all patients due to time and/or personnel constraints. Studies show positive and negative agreement on self-reported FIM scores for patients with spinal cord injuries and amputees. We tested the validity of the self-reported FIM motor score among stroke patients. METHODS: We conducted a prospective double-blind comparative study of patient self-reporting against multidisciplinary assessment, using the standard FIM algorithm. All eligible stroke patients (n = 47) admitted to our rehabilitation centre were included. 33 patients were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: There was substantial agreement on overall FIM motor score between patient self-reporting and multidisciplinary assessment (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] 0.651, 95% confidence interval 0.404-0.811). The scores of individual motor items also showed fair-to-good agreement (ICC range 0.431-0.618), except for eating, grooming, bathing and dressing of the lower body (ICC < 0.400). CONCLUSION There was no FIM assessment for 14 (29.8%) patients, highlighting the need for alternative assessment tools. Discrepancies in some scores could be due to patients' ignorance of their own limitations or feelings of embarrassment about reporting. Our results may not be valid for patient populations with cognitive or communication deficits. However, a modest agreement between patient self-reporting and multidisciplinary assessment of FIM motor score was demonstrated. Although patients tend to overrate their performance, self-reported FIM motor scores could be an alternative in situations where multidisciplinary FIM assessment is difficult.