Translation and adaptation of functional auditory performance indicators (FAPI)

Work with deaf children has gained new attention since the expectation and goal of therapy has expanded to language development and subsequent language learning. Many clinical tests were developed for evaluation of speech sound perception in young children in response to the need for accurate assessment of hearing skills that developed from the use of individual hearing aids or cochlear implants. These tests also allow the evaluation of the rehabilitation program. However, few of these tests are available in Portuguese. Evaluation with the Functional Auditory Performance Indicators (FAPI) generates a child's functional auditory skills profile, which lists auditory skills in an integrated and hierarchical order. It has seven hierarchical categories, including sound awareness, meaningful sound, auditory feedback, sound source localizing, auditory discrimination, short-term auditory memory, and linguistic auditory processing. FAPI evaluation allows the therapist to map the child's hearing profile performance, determine the target for increasing the hearing abilities, and develop an effective therapeutic plan. Objective: Since the FAPI is an American test, the inventory was adapted for application in the Brazilian population. Material and Methods: The translation was done following the steps of translation and back translation, and reproducibility was evaluated. Four translated versions (two originals and two back-translated) were compared, and revisions were done to ensure language adaptation and grammatical and idiomatic equivalence. Results: The inventory was duly translated and adapted. Conclusion: Further studies about the application of the translated FAPI are necessary to make the test practicable in Brazilian clinical use.

Efetividade de um programa de protetização auditiva em idosos através da aplicação do questionário HHIE-S / Effectiveness of a program of auditory prothetization in elders through the application of HHIE-S questionnaire

Introdução: A perda auditiva em idosos tem sido estudada não apenas pelo contexto biológico mas também pelo impacto negativo na qualidade de vida desta população. A protetização auditiva é parte fundamental na reabilitação auditiva. Objetivo: Avaliar o impacto subjetivo de um programa de reabilitação auditiva em idosos através da aplicação do questionário HHIE-S antes e após 30 dias de terapia reabilitadora. Método: 47 indivíduos idosos foram avaliados, sendo 25 do sexo masculino. O questionário HHIE-S foi aplicado antes e 30 dias após terapia de reabilitação auditiva. Resultado: A idade média da amostra foi de 75 anos. 57% da amostra apresentou perda auditiva moderada. O escore médio obtido passou de 24,2 para 1,8 pontos após o período de terapia fonoaudiológica (p<0.001). Conclusão: Os escores médios foram reduzidos significativamente após 30 dias de protetização auditiva e terapia fonoaudiológica. Estes resultados, entretanto, podem estar superestimados. A avaliação em 6 ou 12 meses pode medir de modo mais fidedigno o impacto de um programa reabilitador na percepção subjetiva da qualidade de vida da população idosa.

Introduction: The elders' hearing loss has been studied not only by the biological context, but also by the negative impact on the life quality of this population. The auditory prothetization is a basic part in the auditory rehabilitation. Objective: To evaluate the subjective impact of an auditory rehabilitation program in elders through the application of the HHIE-S questionnaire before and 30 days after rehabilitating therapy. Method: 47 elder individuals were evaluated and 25 were male. The HHIE-S questionnaire was applied before and 30 days after auditory rehabilitation therapy. Result: The mean age of the sample was 75 years of age. 57% of the sample presented moderate hearing loss. The average score obtained passed from 24.2 to 1.8 points after the phonoaudiologic therapy period (p<0.001). Conclusion: The average scores were significantly reduced after 30 days of auditory prothetization and phonoaudiologic therapy. However, such results may be overestimated. The evaluation in 6 or 12 months may more faithfully measure the impact of a rehabilitating program in the elder's population life quality subjective perception.