[Quantification of communication difficulty in subjects with hearing loss: a pilot study].

A brief questionnaire concerning auditory disability in every day listening was developed. The aim was to generate a simple, practical test for rehabilitational purposes. The questionnaire was administered to 255 hearing-impaired subjects coming under observation consecutively. The only requirement for participation was an expression of communicational difficulties due to adult onset of hearing loss. Some items were not applicable for all subjects. The higher scores were observed for hearing problems related to speech-in-noise. Good linear correlations were found between better-ear auditory and questionnaire score-based indexes in the 'family' and 'social' sections.