Validity of the French Version of Deafness Questionnaires for Children and Adolescents (SSQ-PEACH)

The care of deafness in children is difficult and the relevance of interventions is difficult to evaluate based on audiometric measurements alone.

Generic pediatric quality of life tools have been validated and used, among other things, to assess the quality of life of children with deafness. However, these non-specific tools do not make it possible to precisely target which factors and interventions are the most important for the quality of life in this population.

Achieving a score to monitor the quality of life objectively over time is fundamental to verify the effectiveness of interventions, and assess the impact on the child. There is currently no validated test in French for any of these uses and populations.

The objective of the study is to adapt the questionnaires "PEACH", "SSQ child (SSQ-C)" and "SSQ parents (SSQ-P)" to the French child, and statistically measure their internal and external validity by comparing them to a control group.

The validation of these three tests (PEACH, SSQ-P, SSQ-C) would make it possible to assess the hearing performance and quality of life of almost the entire pediatric population, for use in both clinical and academic practice.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Deafness
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaires

Detailed Description

Neonatal sensorineural hearing loss is a frequent pathology, affecting around 800 newborns per year in France, or an incidence of 0.8 to 1.3 per 1000 births, comparable to other industrialized countries. It can affect the development of speech and language and lead to impaired quality of life.

Studies have shown that children with hearing loss score lower on general quality-of-life measurement tools, compared to their normal-hearing peers. A poorer quality of life in patients with sensorineural hearing loss may also reflect physical, academic, social or emotional difficulties. They are also exposed to an increased risk of poor development of language and social skills, as well as an increased risk of developing psychiatric pathologies.

The care of deafness in children is difficult and the relevance of interventions is difficult to evaluate based on audiometric measurements alone.

Generic pediatric quality of life tools have been validated and used, among other things, to assess the quality of life of children with deafness. However, these non-specific tools do not make it possible to precisely target which factors and interventions are the most important for the quality of life in this population.

Achieving a score to monitor the quality of life objectively over time is fundamental to verify the effectiveness of interventions, and assess the impact on the child. There is currently no validated test in French for any of these uses and populations.

The Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) is a hetero-evaluation score used to study the quality of a child's communication from an early age (from 4 months in some studies) and up to 13 years. This tool is specifically designed for children with hearing aids or a cochlear implant. It has been translated into Swedish and Spanish and used in numerous international publications.

The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) is an adult self-assessment score assessing, in three categories, the performance of speech comprehension, spatial hearing and hearing quality. It is widely used internationally in its adult version.

This adult score has been adapted and used for the pediatric population in a hetero-evaluation score by parents (SSQ-P) from 5 years old, and a simplified score (SSQ-C) usable by children> 11 years.

In addition, the authors of the adult SSQ also prepared and validated a Handicap questionnaire to target the impact of hearing loss on quality of life, and integrated into the SSQ self-assessment.

The objective of the study is to adapt the questionnaires "PEACH", "SSQ child (SSQ-C)" and "SSQ parents (SSQ-P)" to the French child, and statistically measure their internal and external validity by comparing them to a control group.

The validation of these three tests (PEACH, SSQ-P, SSQ-C) would make it possible to assess the hearing performance and quality of life of almost the entire pediatric population, for use in both clinical and academic practice.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 101

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Paris, France, 75015
    • Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 2 years to 13 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients followed by the Pediatric ENT department of Necker-Enfants Malades hospital.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Minors aged 12 months to 17 years (inclusive)
• Patients followed in consultation at Necker Hospital in the Pediatric ENT department
• holders of parental authority not opposed to participation in the study

Patients :

• Patients with deafness with mean tonal thresholds of at least 30dB, uni- or bilateral
• Perceptual or transmission deafness or mixed

Controls:

• Patients not presenting a hearing disorder at the time of inclusion or in his or her history
• Examination of the normal eardrums
• No history of ear surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

• Psychomotor retardation
• Abnormal neurological examination
• Mother tongue of the child and parents other than French

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Case-Control
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Patients with deafness; Patients aged 12 months to 17 years with deafness	Other: Questionnaires; Children 12 months to 5 years old will receive PEACH alone, children 5 years old to 11 years old will receive PEACH and SSQ-P, and children and adolescents over 11 years old will receive SSQ-P and SSQ-C (even between 11 and 13 years old, the PEACH also). Questionnaires will be completed twice, 15 days apart.; Other Names: The Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH). The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ)
Controls; Normal-hearing patients aged 12 months to 17 years	Other: Questionnaires; Children 12 months to 5 years old will receive PEACH alone, children 5 years old to 11 years old will receive PEACH and SSQ-P, and children and adolescents over 11 years old will receive SSQ-P and SSQ-C (even between 11 and 13 years old, the PEACH also). Questionnaires will be completed twice, 15 days apart.; Other Names: The Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH). The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Paired student t-test	Reproducibility of the questionnaire completed by a subject at 15 days apart	1 year
Cronbach alpha test	Internal consistency	1 year
Item-total Pearson correlation	Measure of reliability	1 year
Principal components analysis	Measure of efficiency	1 year
Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve	Limit value of normality	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
• Collaborators: URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Françoise Denoyelle, MD, PhD, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Gargula S, Simon F, Celerier C, Couloigner V, Leboulanger N, Loundon N, Denoyelle F. French adaptation and validation of parents' evaluation of aural/oral performance of children (PEACH) scale in children. Int J Audiol. 2023 Jun;62(6):592-598. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2022.2059714. Epub 2022 May 9.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 4, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 21, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 21, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): September 25, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 11, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 9, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Children; Deafness; SSQ questionnaire; PEACH questionnaire
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Sensation Disorders; Ear Diseases; Hearing Loss; Hearing Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Deafness; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Investigative Techniques; Epidemiologic Methods; Data Collection; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Public Health; Environment and Public Health; Surveys and Questionnaires
• Other Study ID Numbers: APHP200794; 2020-A01274-35 (Other Identifier: ID RCB number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No