Abstract

Purpose Hearing-impaired individuals experience higher levels of listening effort in challenging situations, affecting their communication in daily life. The purpose of this study was to linguistically and culturally adapt the Effort Assessment Scale (EAS) into Danish (D-EAS) and to investigate its reliability and validity in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. Methods The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the EAS aligns with recommendations to adapt hearing-related questionnaires for different languages and cultures. Participants were 157 listeners (85 females) aged 20-86 years (M-age = 62.5, SD = 16.8), with (non-hearing aid and hearing aid users) and without hearing loss. Results Reliability analysis showed good internal consistency for the six items in the D-EAS (Cronbach's alpha= 0.93). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that D-EAS is a one-dimensional instrument. Significant differences were observed across items and overall scores between normal hearing (NH) and hearing loss groups. Conclusions The D-EAS reliably estimates self-perception of listening effort in adults with and without hearing loss and is sensitive to the impact of hearing loss. Thus, the D-EAS can provide hearing care professionals and hearing researchers with valuable insights into people's self-perception of listening effort to help guide clinical and other rehabilitation decisions.