Use of self-assessment inventories in hearing-aid provision: German versions of ECHO and SADL.

Objective: This study presents German versions of the ECHO (expected consequences of hearing aid ownership) and SADL (satisfaction with amplification in daily life) self-assessment inventories ( Cox et al, 1999 , 2000 ).

Study Sample: The questionnaires were administered to a group of 290 hearing-aid candidates (ECHO) and 462 experienced hearing-aid users (SADL) recruited at different audiological centres in Germany.

Design: The psychometric properties of the German versions and the original questionnaires were similar as confirmed by factor analysis and internal consistency analysis.

Results: When comparing outcomes for the ECHO and SADL inventories from the two study groups it was found that satisfaction outperformed expectations. In addition, the relationships of the questionnaire subscales with personality traits as measured with the Big Five inventory were examined. Certain weak though statistically significant correlations were found revealing that personality in hearing-impaired persons does not greatly affect ECHO and SADL outcomes. In contrast, ECHO subscale scores were clearly associated with the motivation to use amplification and might thus help to detect non-adherents.

Conclusion: These findings, along with the fact that pre-fitting expectations can be directly compared to post-fitting satisfaction, makes the application of the ECHO and SADL inventories highly valuable in rehabilitative audiology.