Cross-cultural translation and validation of the Malay version of the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Parent Rating Scale of attention deficit hyperactivity disorders symptoms among Malaysian probands: A preliminary study.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Malay version of the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Parent Rating Scale of attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) symptoms (M-SNAP-IV). For this purpose, the SNAP-IV scale was translated into the Malay language and was pilot-tested on 91 parents of children aged 8 to 11 years (ADHD [n = 36] and non-ADHD children [n = 55]). The findings depicted that the M-SNAP-IV has excellent content validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. The M-SNAP-IV is a valid and reliable screening tool to detect ADHD symptoms in children and has the advantages to assess the specific presentation of ADHD.

The Influence of Feedback in the Simulated Patient Case-History Training among Audiology Students at the International Islamic University Malaysia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a scant evidence on the use of simulations in audiology (especially in Malaysia) for case-history taking, although this technique is widely used for training medical and nursing students. Feedback is one of the important components in simulations training; however, it is unknown if feedback by instructors could influence the simulated patient (SP) training outcome for case-history taking among audiology students. Aim of the present study is to determine whether the SP training with feedback in addition to the standard role-play and seminar training is an effective learning tool for audiology case-history taking. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-six second-year undergraduate audiology students participated. A cross-over study design was used. All students initially attended two hours of seminar and role-play sessions. They were then divided into three types of training, 1) SP training (Group A), 2) SP with feedback (Group B), and 3) a non-additional training group (Group C). After two training sessions, the students changed their types of training to, 1) Group A and C: SP training with feedback, and 2) Group B: non-additional training. All the groups were assessed at three points: 1) pre-test, 2) intermediate, and 3) post-test. The normalized median score differences between and within the respective groups were analysed using non-parametric tests at 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Groups with additional SP trainings (with and without feedback) showed a significantly higher normalized gain score than no training group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The SP training (with/ without feedback) is a beneficial learning tool for history taking to students in audiology major.

Translation, Adaptation and Cross-Cultural Validation of Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adult in Malay Language.

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.

Influence of two-electrode montages on the level-specific (LS) CE-Chirp auditory brainstem response (ABR) at multiple intensity levels.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of two different electrode montages (ipsilateral: reference to mastoid and vertical: reference to nape of neck) to the ABR results recorded using a level-specific (LS)-CE-Chirp® in normally hearing subjects at multiple intensities levels. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental and repeated measure study designs were applied in this study. Two different stopping criteria were used, (1) a fixed-signal averaging 4000 sweeps and, (2) a minimum quality indicator of Fmp = 3.1 with a minimum of 800 sweeps. STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty-nine normally hearing adults (18 females, 11 male) participated. RESULTS: Wave V amplitudes were significantly larger in the LS CE-Chirp® recorded from the vertical montage than the ipsilateral montage. Waves I and III amplitudes were significantly larger from the ipsilateral LS CE-Chirp® than from the other montages and stimulus combinations. The differences in the quality of the ABR recording between the vertical and ipsilateral montages were marginal. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the result suggested that the vertical LS CE-Chirp® ABR had a high potential for a threshold-seeking application, because it produced a higher wave V amplitude. The Ipsilateral LS CE-Chirp® ABR, on the other hand, might also have a high potential for the site of lesion application, because it produced larger waves I and III amplitudes.

The development of a fast method for recording Schroeder-phase masking functions.

Schroeder-phase masking complexes have been used in many psychophysical experiments to examine the phase curvature of cochlear filtering at characteristic frequencies, and other aspects of cochlear nonlinearity. In a normal nonlinear cochlea, changing the "scalar factor" of the Schroeder-phase masker from -1 through 0 to +1 results in a marked difference in the measured masked thresholds, whereas this difference is reduced in ears with damaged outer hair cells. Despite the valuable information it may give, one disadvantage of the Schroeder-phase masking procedure is the length of the test - using the conventional three-alternative forced-choice technique to measure a masking function takes around 45 min for one combination of probe frequency and intensity. As an alternative, we have developed a fast method of recording these functions which uses a Békésy tracking procedure. Testing at 500 Hz in normal hearing participants, we demonstrate that our fast method: i) shows good agreement with the conventional method; ii) shows high test-retest reliability; and iii) shortens the testing time to 8 min.

Simulated learning environment (SLE) in audiology education: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the relevant peer-review literature investigating the outcome of simulated learning environment (SLE) training in audiology education. DESIGN: A systematic review research design. STUDY SAMPLE: Fifteen databases were searched with four studies meeting the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Three of the four studies revealed positive findings for the use of an SLE (that is, the SLE group showed a higher post-training score compared to the traditional training group or a significantly higher post-training score than the non-training groups). One study revealed negative findings where the traditional training group showed a significantly higher post-training score than the SLE group. In addition, both the studies comparing post- and pre-training scores reported significantly higher post-training scores than the pre-training scores of the participants that underwent SLE training. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this review supports the notions that SLE training is an effective learning tool and can be used for basic clinical training. This conclusion should be treated with caution, considering the limited numbers of studies published in this area and future research should be conducted to cope with the gaps highlighted in this review.