The acoustic voice quality index (AVQI) is a multiparametric tool based on six acoustic measurements to quantify overall voice quality in an objective manner, with the smoothed version of the cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) as its main contributor. In the last decade, many studies demonstrated its robust diagnostic accuracy and high sensitivity to voice changes across voice therapy in different languages. The aim of the present study was to provide information regarding AVQI’s and CPPS’s performance in normophonic non-treatment-seeking subjects, since these data are still scarce; concatenated voice samples, consisting of sustained vowel phonation and continuous speech, from 123 subjects (72 females, 51 males; between 20 and 60 years old) without vocally relevant complaints were evaluated by three raters and run in AVQI v.02.06. According to this auditory-perceptual evaluation, two cohorts were set up (normophonia versus slight perceived dysphonia). First, gender effects were investigated. Secondly, between-cohort differences in AVQI and CPPS were investigated. Thirdly, with the number of judges giving G = 1 to partition three sub-levels of slight hoarseness as an independent factor, differences in AVQI and CPPS across these sub-levels were investigated; for AVQI, no significant gender effect was found, whereas, for CPPS, significant trends were observed. For both AVQI and CPPS, no significant differences were found between normophonic and slightly dysphonic subjects. For AVQI, however, this difference did approach significance; these findings emphasize the need for a normative study with a greater sample size and subsequently greater statistical power to detect possible significant effects and differences.

To date, no hearing-specific self-report tool is available in Dutch to give insight into how deficits in auditory skills are experienced by a child in daily life or to examine the impact of hearing...

Early diagnosis, intervention and consistent follow-up of hearing loss is of great importance in children, given the broad impact of untreated childhood hearing loss. Currently, no hearing-specific QOL proxy questionnaire exists for preschool children with hearing loss in the Dutch language. Therefore, the aim of this study was to translate and validate the Preschool HEAR-QL questionnaire into Dutch. Translation was conducted according the forward-backward procedure. Parents or caregivers of 60 normal-hearing children and 50 children with bilateral hearing loss aged 2-6 years old were invited to digitally complete the questionnaire. The Preschool HEAR-QL questionnaire showed good discriminant validity between the normal-hearing and the hearing loss group, for its total score and some subscales. We concluded satisfying internal consistency given Cronbach's alpha values being above 0.70, nearly all alpha if item deleted values approaching the overall values, and item-subscale correlations above 0.30. Test-retest reliability was satisfying with all intraclass correlation coefficients being greater than 0.70. This Dutch hearing-specific QOL proxy questionnaire can play an important role in the management and follow-up of early childhood hearing loss in Dutch health care and hearing centers. Future research on clinical data will further verify its utility in clinical practice.

Objective: As the impact of hearing loss extends beyond auditory function, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) measuring quality of life (QOL) are increasingly incorporated in the management and follow-up of children with hearing loss. The Hearing Environments and Reflection on Quality of Life (HEAR-QL) is a hearing-specific QOL tool, providing insight into the impact of hearing loss on daily life. This study aims to identify factors associated with hearing-related QOL in children and adolescents with hearing loss. Method: Clinical data of 136 subjects (84 children and 52 adolescents) aged 7–18 years with unilateral and bilateral hearing loss, attending our audiology outpatient clinic at the Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, were used. The Dutch HEAR-QL questionnaires for children and adolescents were used to assess hearing-related QOL. Characteristics of hearing rehabilitation; hearing status; and the demographic factors gender, age, and education type were explored as potential factors associated with hearing-related QOL, using group comparisons, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Univariate analysis showed that children in regular education scored significantly higher on hearing-specific QOL for the Activities subscale compared to those attending education for the deaf and hard of hearing. Adolescents with hearing aids had higher HEAR-QL scores compared to those with cochlear implants. Furthermore, speech recognition in both quiet and noise was significantly associated with hearing-related QOL in the adolescent age group. Multiple linear regression analysis confirmed higher QOL in adolescents with hearing aids and identified speech recognition in quiet at 45 dB SPL as a significant predictor of hearing-related QOL in adolescents. In children, univariate analyses revealed no significant associations with hearing device characteristics or auditory performance. Conclusions: The main finding of this study was that the type of hearing device and aided speech recognition scores were associated with hearing-specific QOL in adolescents, illustrating the vital contribution of hearing rehabilitation to daily life functioning. The increasing use of QOL PROMs in children and adolescents with hearing loss will facilitate further exploration of potential associated factors and could increase our insight into this vulnerable population group. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.30795119

Early diagnosis, intervention and consistent follow-up of hearing loss is of great importance in children, given the broad impact of untreated ch | POSTER