<p> </p><p> </p><p>I föreliggande studie undersöktes ordförrådet (ordförståelse och benämning) hos 21 barn med hörselskada och 21 normalhörande barn i åldrarna 7-9 år, matchade till ålder, kön och bostadsort. Deltagarna delades även in i undergrupper med avseende på hörselskadans typ (ledningshinder, sensorineural skada samt kombinerad skada) och grad (lätt, måttlig, grav och döva/hörselskadade barn med CI) samt typ av skolform. Ordförståelse undersöktes med Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III och benämning undersöktes med Word Finding Vocabulary Test. Som förväntat hade gruppen med hörselskada lägre resultat på båda testen, men endast benämningstestet visade en statistiskt signifikant gruppskillnad (<em>p </em>= 0,002 jämfört med <em>p </em>= 0,054 för ordförståelse). För benämningstestet hade barn med hörselskada i 7-års ålder ett signifikant lägre resultat jämfört med åldersmatchad kontrollgrupp, medan skillnaden inte var signifikant i de äldre åldersgrupperna (8 och 9 år). Typ, grad, kön eller skolform (hörselklass kontra integrerad skolform) hade ingen signifikant effekt på något av testen, men samband kan inte uteslutas pga relativt få barn i varje undergrupp i denna studie. Explorativ analys av individuella åldersekvivalenta resultat för benämningstestet indikerade följande: (a) majoriteten av de hörselskadade barnen låg inom den nedre halvan av normalresultatet; (b) två barn med cochleaimplantat hade särskilt låga resultat; (c) deltagare med lätt hörselskada tenderade att ha sämre resultat än deltagare med grav hörselskada, vilket kan tyda på otillräckligt stöd vid lätt skada; och (d) en deltagare med måttlig hörselskada hade lika högt resultat som det högsta resultatet i kontrollgruppen.</p><p> </p><p> </p> / <p>This study examined the receptive and expressive vocabulary in 21 children with hearing impairment and 21 children with normal hearing between the ages of 7-9. The groups were matched in regard to age, gender and home district. The material was divided into categories of hearing impairment based on type (conductive, sensorineural and combined hearing impairment), severity (mild, moderate, severe and children with profound deafness/hearing impairment with cochlear implant) and children in hard of hearing classes versus children integrated in ordinary classes. The tests used were Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III (word comprehension) and Word Finding Vocabulary Test (word production). As expected, the group of children with impaired hearing achieved lower results on both tests. However, only the result on the word production test was significant for children with hearing impairment (<em>p </em>= 0,002 compared with <em>p </em>= 0,054 for comprehension). 7 years old children with hearing impairment reached a significantly lower result on the word production test compared with their peers with normal hearing, whereas the difference between the groups of 8 and 9 years old children was not significant. Type, severity, gender or school placement (hard of hearing classes versus ordinary classes) had no significant effect on neither word comprehension nor word production, but a correlation can not be out ruled because of a relatively low number of children in each subgroup. Explorative analyze of the individual age equivalent results for the word production test indicated: (a) the majority of children with hearing impairment performed within the lower half of the normal results; (b) two children with cochlear implants achieved a particularly low result; (c) participants with a mild hearing impairment tend to have a lower result than the participants with a severe hearing impairment, which might indicate insufficient support; and (d) one participant with moderate hearing impairment performed a result at the same level as the highest result in the control group.</p>

I föreliggande studie undersöktes ordförrådet (ordförståelse och benämning) hos 21 barn med hörselskada och 21 normalhörande barn i åldrarna 7-9 år, matchade till ålder, kön och bostadsort. Deltagarna delades även in i undergrupper med avseende på hörselskadans typ (ledningshinder, sensorineural skada samt kombinerad skada) och grad (lätt, måttlig, grav och döva/hörselskadade barn med CI) samt typ av skolform. Ordförståelse undersöktes med Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III och benämning undersöktes med Word Finding Vocabulary Test. Som förväntat hade gruppen med hörselskada lägre resultat på båda testen, men endast benämningstestet visade en statistiskt signifikant gruppskillnad (p = 0,002 jämfört med p = 0,054 för ordförståelse). För benämningstestet hade barn med hörselskada i 7-års ålder ett signifikant lägre resultat jämfört med åldersmatchad kontrollgrupp, medan skillnaden inte var signifikant i de äldre åldersgrupperna (8 och 9 år). Typ, grad, kön eller skolform (hörselklass kontra integrerad skolform) hade ingen signifikant effekt på något av testen, men samband kan inte uteslutas pga relativt få barn i varje undergrupp i denna studie. Explorativ analys av individuella åldersekvivalenta resultat för benämningstestet indikerade följande: (a) majoriteten av de hörselskadade barnen låg inom den nedre halvan av normalresultatet; (b) två barn med cochleaimplantat hade särskilt låga resultat; (c) deltagare med lätt hörselskada tenderade att ha sämre resultat än deltagare med grav hörselskada, vilket kan tyda på otillräckligt stöd vid lätt skada; och (d) en deltagare med måttlig hörselskada hade lika högt resultat som det högsta resultatet i kontrollgruppen. / This study examined the receptive and expressive vocabulary in 21 children with hearing impairment and 21 children with normal hearing between the ages of 7-9. The groups were matched in regard to age, gender and home district. The material was divided into categories of hearing impairment based on type (conductive, sensorineural and combined hearing impairment), severity (mild, moderate, severe and children with profound deafness/hearing impairment with cochlear implant) and children in hard of hearing classes versus children integrated in ordinary classes. The tests used were Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III (word comprehension) and Word Finding Vocabulary Test (word production). As expected, the group of children with impaired hearing achieved lower results on both tests. However, only the result on the word production test was significant for children with hearing impairment (p = 0,002 compared with p = 0,054 for comprehension). 7 years old children with hearing impairment reached a significantly lower result on the word production test compared with their peers with normal hearing, whereas the difference between the groups of 8 and 9 years old children was not significant. Type, severity, gender or school placement (hard of hearing classes versus ordinary classes) had no significant effect on neither word comprehension nor word production, but a correlation can not be out ruled because of a relatively low number of children in each subgroup. Explorative analyze of the individual age equivalent results for the word production test indicated: (a) the majority of children with hearing impairment performed within the lower half of the normal results; (b) two children with cochlear implants achieved a particularly low result; (c) participants with a mild hearing impairment tend to have a lower result than the participants with a severe hearing impairment, which might indicate insufficient support; and (d) one participant with moderate hearing impairment performed a result at the same level as the highest result in the control group.

Background It has long been acknowledged that hearing impairment may increase the risk for psychotic experiences. Recent work suggests that young people in particular may be at risk, indicating a possible developmental mechanism. Method The hypothesis that individuals exposed to hearing impairment in early adolescence would display the highest risk for psychotic symptoms was examined in a prospective cohort study of a population sample of originally 3021 adolescents and young adults aged 14–24 years at baseline, in Munich, Germany (Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology Study). The expression of psychosis was assessed at multiple time points over a period of up to 10 years, using a diagnostic interview (Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview; CIDI) administered by clinical psychologists. Results Hearing impairment was associated with CIDI psychotic symptoms [odds ratio (OR) 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–3.81], particularly more severe psychotic symptoms (OR 5.66, 95% CI 1.64–19.49). The association between hearing impairment and CIDI psychotic symptoms was much stronger in the youngest group aged 14–17 years at baseline (OR 3.28, 95% CI 1.54–7.01) than in the older group aged 18–24 years at baseline (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.24–2.84). Conclusions The finding of an age-specific association between hearing impairment and psychotic experiences suggests that disruption of development at a critical adolescent phase, in interaction with other personal and social vulnerabilities, may increase the risk for psychotic symptoms.

This research regards internet users with hearing-impairment as the target. The purpose is to investigate the factors which will influence hearing-impaired people use internet. This research is theoretically based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). According to the literatures, join subject norm, media richness, internet self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment. A total of 255 effective samples were collected via internet questionnaire. Through the survey and analysis, we could prove that subject norm, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use will influence the behavioral intention directly. Subject norm, media richness, perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use will influence the perceived usefulness directly. And media richness, internet self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment will influence the perceived ease of use. According to the findings of research, there are the following suggestions. (1) Hearing-impaired communities should offer information courses of computer and internet. (2)The government should offer more services through internet, and social welfare organizations should update information as instant as possible. (3)Implement the execution of the regulations of web accessibility.

A hearing impairment is primarily diagnosed by measuring the hearing thresholds at a range of auditory frequencies (air-conduction audiometry). Although this clinical procedure is simple, affordable, reliable and fast, it does not offer differential information about origins of the hearing impairment. The main goal of this thesis is to quantitatively link specific cochlear pathologies to certain changes in the spectral and temporal characteristics of the auditory system. This can help better understand the underlying mechanisms associated with sensorineural hearing impairments, beyond what is shown in the audiogram. Here, an electromechanical signal-transmission model is devised in MATLAB where the parameters of the model convey biological interpretations of mammalian cochlear structures. The model is exploited to simulate the cell-level cochlear pathologies associated with two common types of sensorineural hearing impairments, 1: presbyacusis (age-related hearing impairment) and, 2: noise-induced hearing impairment. Furthermore, a clinical study, consisting of different psychoacoustic and physiological tests, was performed to trace and validate the model predictions in human. The results of the clinical tests were collated and compared with the model predictions, showing a reasonable agreement. In summary, the present model provides a biophysical foundation for simulating the effect of specific cellular lesions, due to different inner-ear diseases and external insults, on the entire cochlear mechanism and thereby on the whole auditory system. This is a multidisciplinary work in the sense that it connects the ‘biological processes’ with ‘acoustic modelling’ and ‘clinical audiology’ in a translational context.

In Europa leiden etwa 120 Millionen aller 18- bis 80-jährigen an einer Hörbehinderung (16% Prävalenz). Die altersassoziierte Innenohrschwerhörigkeit (Age related hearing impairment, ARHI) hat damit Anschluss gefunden an die großen Volkskrankheiten: Ischämische Herzerkrankungen (5,9 %), Demenz (5,8 %), Diabetes mellitus und Cerebralen Erkrankungen (je 5,5 %). Der erste Teil der Arbeit befasst sich mit der Theorie des Hörens und seinen Störungen, der cochleären Durchblutung, den metabolischen Risikofaktoren, der Molekularbiologie und Epigenetik des Innenohres. Obwohl in der Literatur weitgehend Konsens über den Einfluss exogener Faktoren auf ARHI herrscht, wie Diabetes mellitus, Herz-Kreislauferkrankungen (Framingham Studie und CVD), Hypertonie, Rauchen, Body mass index (BMI) und genderspezifische hormonelle Einflüsse, gibt es kaum HNO-ärztliche Studien dazu. Der zweite Teil geht in einer Praxis-Fallstudie an 202 Patienten folgenden Fragen nach: 1. Gibt es zwischen metabolischen Erkrankungen, wie Adipositas, Störungen des Fett- und Glucosestoffwechsels, der Hypertonie und der Zunahme von Innenohrschwerhörigkeiten im Erwachsenenalter klinische Zusammenhänge? 2. Könnte eine erste Ohrsymptomatik Prädikator einer okkulten pathologischen Stoffwechselveränderung sein? 3. Gibt es Möglichkeiten einer Prävention? Im Ergebnis zeigten sich bei Patienten mit ARHI im Verhältnis Männer/Frauen: Störung des Glukosestoffwechsels bei 97 %/84 %, Lipidstoffwechselstörungen bei 76 %/85 %, eine Homocysteinämien bei 70 %/62 %, ein Anstieg des Plasminogen-Aktivator-Inhibitors (PAI) bei 65 %/38 % und eine Harnsäureerhöhung bei 48 %/15 %. Auch bei ersten Ohrsymptomen (Ohrdruck, Tinnitus, einzelne Frequenzsenken) fanden sich in jedem einzelnen Fall metabolische Veränderungen, die entweder allein oder in unterschiedlichen Kombinationen vorlagen. Männern mit metabolisch initiierten KHK-Erkrankung haben als Prädikator häufig eine erektile Dysfunktion. Erste auditorische Symptomen könnten Prädikator okkulter metabolischer Störungen bei Männern und Frauen sein. Anamnestisch unklare Innenohrprobleme sollten daher auf Stoffwechselstörungen untersucht werden, da diese Risikofaktoren darstellen, die leitlinienbasiert zu therapieren sind. Eine Prognose ist in keinem Einzelfall möglich, da die Folgen auf die molekularbiologischen Prozesse im Innenohres individuell nicht erkennbar sind. Doch sahen wir bei einigen Patienten deutliche Verbesserungen der Symptome und einen Hörschwellenanstieg. Andere Patienten zeigten innerhalb des Beobachtungszeitraums keine Änderung der audiogenen Symptomatik. Behandlungen über einen längeren Zeitraum an einer größeren Fallzahl wären daher sinnvoll. Die Ergebnisse könnten als erste sekundärpräventive Behandlung betrachtet werden, die im Einzelfall eine Hörgeräteversorgung entbehrlich machte. Sie stellen einen Beitrag zu Pfisters Empfehlung dar, mit den vorhandenen Erkenntnissen exogener Risikomechanismen, dringend neue therapeutische Präventionsstrategien für die HNO-ärztliche Tätigkeit zu entwickeln, die die neurale und molekulare Basis anstelle der Symptome der Erkrankung fokussieren.

Hearing impairment is a chronic health condition that affects increasingly younger age groups. Prevalence rates in the working population are estimated to be between four and nine percent when defined by audiometric loss, and between 30 – 40% when using self-report of hearing problems. Hearing impairment can limit and threaten the social functioning of the affected person. It interferes with oral communication, causing activity limitations and participation restrictions. Additionally, a stigma is attached to hearing loss that can lead to feelings of embarrassment, guilt, anxiety and social exclusion. The stigma also poses a threat to the identity of the hearing impaired person who, in return, manages this threat by concealing or disclosing their hearing impairment depending on the social implications. As a consequence, help–seeking is delayed by a considerable amount of time. Although proven to be an effective intervention, amplification is often rejected by working adults. Another available effective intervention is participating in audiologic rehabilitation (AR) programmes. These programmes focus on stigma reduction and communication strategies. Most existing programmes target an elderly population that had been fitted with hearing aids. No programme for working adults who do not wear amplification is published in the literature. The new AR programme “See it! Hear it! Say it!” had been designed for adults who do not wear amplification and previously trialled in the USA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short and mid-term outcomes of a version adapted for the New Zealand context, specifically changes in health related quality of life (HRQoL) and cognitive anxiety. Thirteen participants in two groups participated in the study. The design was a quasi–randomised pre-test/post-test/follow-up test with waitlist design. Outcomes were measured with the International Outcome Inventory – Alternative Interventions (IOI-AI), the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA), the Cognitive Anxiety Scale (CAS) and a non-standardised online questionnaire. Results demonstrated statistically significant differences between pre-group and follow-up assessment outcomes. Effect sizes ranged between 0.606 and 2.114. Participants reported implementing communication strategies in a number of adverse listening environments. These findings provide evidence that the New Zealand specific version of “See it! Hear it! Say it!” is effective in improving HRQoL and reducing cognitive anxiety.

Submitted by Luciana Sebin (lusebin@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-30T12:09:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissCDO.pdf: 1926071 bytes, checksum: 3138a073e0b20c8fa9d9b3e4de8690e3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-13T20:35:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissCDO.pdf: 1926071 bytes, checksum: 3138a073e0b20c8fa9d9b3e4de8690e3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-13T20:36:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissCDO.pdf: 1926071 bytes, checksum: 3138a073e0b20c8fa9d9b3e4de8690e3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T20:36:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissCDO.pdf: 1926071 bytes, checksum: 3138a073e0b20c8fa9d9b3e4de8690e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Aiming to overcome various barriers faced by disabled people, new standards and laws were created in recent years. Therefore, the concepts of accessibility and inclusion have been more present currently. One of the main rights of people with disabilities refers to the right to education, once this right could provide a citizen to participate more actively in the social context. It was noted that nowadays, the basis of this challenge for accessibility and inclusion, is the potentiality of Digital Technologies of Information and Communication. Thus, this research aims to identify and characterize the role and the use of Digital Assistive Technology resources in education for people with sensory impairment. It was considerated for the proposed analysis, four specific objectives: identify and analyze possible benefits / advantages, challenges / strategies and difficulties / limitations faced by users of assistive technology resources at the institutions analyzed; map and categorize Brazilian initiatives on the use of assistive technology resources to form (or easier) access to scientific knowledge for people with sensory impairment; propose a taxonomic matrix for classification and evaluation of assistive software dedicated for people with visual or hearing impairments; and finally, analyze the role of Assistive Technology for democratization of scientific knowledge of citizens with visual and hearing impairments. The methodology used to achieve the proposed objectives were based in the following approaches: collecting data (bibliographical research, bibliometric study, online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews), Digital Assistive Technologies survey and taxonomic matrix with assistive software. Results highlight some points: although the focus theme of this research is of great importance to disabled people education, there are few scientific studies that deal with this issue; the majority (91.30% - 21) of the specialized institutions in the visual or hearing impairments uses assistive technology resources in its educational activities; the number of Digital Assistive Technologies that can be used in the education of visually impairments people is higher compared to hearing impairments. / Em busca de superar diversas barreiras encontradas por pessoas com deficiência, novas normas e leis foram criadas nos últimos anos e, com isso, os conceitos de acessibilidade e inclusão têm estado muito mais presentes atualmente. Um dos principais direitos das pessoas com deficiência refere-se ao direito à educação, pois, é a partir deste direito que este cidadão pode participar de maneira mais ativa no contexto social. Observamos que, na base dessa luta pela acessibilidade e inclusão, nos dias atuais, está a exploração das potencialidades das Tecnologias Digitais de Informação e Comunicação (TDIC). Sendo assim, esta investigação tem como objetivo identificar e caracterizar o papel e o uso de recursos de Tecnologia Assistiva Digital na educação de pessoas com deficiência sensorial. Para possibilitar a análise, foram estabelecidos quatro objetivos específicos: 1) identificar e analisar possíveis benefícios/vantagens, desafios/estratégias e dificuldades/limitações enfrentados pelos usuários de recursos de Tecnologia Assistiva nas instituições analisadas; 2) mapear e categorizar iniciativas brasileiras sobre o uso de recursos de Tecnologia Assistiva para formar (ou facilitar) o acesso ao conhecimento científico para pessoas com deficiência sensorial; 3) propor uma matriz taxonômica para classificação e avaliação de softwares assistivos voltados para pessoas com deficiência visual ou auditiva; 4) analisar o papel da Tecnologia Assistiva para a democratização do conhecimento científico do cidadão com deficiências visuais e auditivas. Para atingir os objetivos propostos foram utilizados como procedimentos metodológicos: Coleta de dados (pesquisa bibliográfica, estudo bibliométrico, questionário online e entrevista semiestruturada), levantamento de Tecnologias Assistivas Digitais e matriz taxonômica com softwares assistivos. Em relação aos resultados, podemos destacar alguns pontos: ainda que o tema foco desta investigação seja de grande importância para a educação de pessoas com deficiência, poucos são os estudos científicos que abordam esta temática; a maioria (91,30% - 21) das instituições especializadas nas deficiências visual ou auditiva utiliza recursos de Tecnologia Assistiva em suas atividades educacionais; o número de Tecnologias Assistivas Digitais que podem ser utilizadas na educação de pessoas com deficiência visual é muito maior se comparado à deficiência auditiva.

The thesis deals with the attitude of the society towards people with special needs, their rights, integration and kinds of disabilities highlighting the hearing impairment. It further describes how the family accepts a child with special needs, the importance of the early care, family therapy and relationships of the family and people around it. The goal of this thesis is to present the subject of hearing impairment and to draw attention to the problems the deaf child family has to cope. In the practical part the reader can find a survey based on questionnaires filled in by parents of children with a hearing impairment. It focuses mainly on parents, their situation, doctors´approach, the impact such handicap has on family and ways to accept it. Besides the questions in the questionnaire, the parents were given the opportunity to express their experience with children. Findings of the survey are interesting from the point of view of the research in this field and they can also serve as an inspiration to families who find themselves in a similar situation.

A maioria dos instrumentos formais e objetivos disponíveis para avaliação e diagnóstico da voz, utilizados por fonoaudiólogos no Brasil, é traduzida e adaptada de uma língua estrangeira para o português brasileiro, já que a tradução e adaptação transcultural de instrumentos existentes para uma determinada língua contribui para a compreensão dos quadros de distúrbios da comunicação humana. Além disso, há uma carência de protocolos voltados especificamente para a avaliação e diagnóstico da voz de deficientes auditivos, que apresentam características vocais comprometidas pela falta do monitoramento auditivo durante a comunicação oral. Assim, o presente estudo teve por objetivo realizar a tradução e adaptação transcultural do Protocolo de Avaliação de Voz do Deficiente Auditivo (PAV-DA) para a língua inglesa, com o intuito de proporcionar globalmente a diversas populações uma versão do instrumento em língua inglesa para a prática clínica. Os autores do instrumento original, que foi desenvolvido na Universidade de Brasília-UnB em parceria com a Faculdade de Odontologia de BauruFOB/USP, autorizaram o seu uso para o desenvolvimento deste estudo. Foram submetidos à tradução e adaptação transcultural para a língua inglesa, o protocolo em si e mais quatro seções que foram utilizadas na validação do mesmo na língua portuguesa: Apresentação e Instruções; Definições de Voz, Fala, Problema de Voz e Problema de Fala; Questionário I; Questionário II. Uma banca de especialistas composta por dez fonoaudiólogos, cinco brasileiros e cinco norte-americanos, analisou o material traduzido em relação às equivalências semântica, idiomática, experimental e conceitual. Foram realizadas comparações dos resultados das avaliações da banca. Para tal, foi utilizada a análise de variância (ANOVA) como critério para medidas repetidas e o teste de Tukey como pós-teste, sendo adotado nível de significância de 5% (p<0,05). Primeiramente, o material foi traduzido do português brasileiro para o inglês por um profissional da área de Tradução. Em seguida, foi retrotraduzido, ou seja, traduzido do inglês para o português, por um segundo tradutor. Posteriormente, um terceiro profissional realizou a versão consenso, por meio de comparação entre as duas versões anteriores do instrumento. Por fim, a versão consenso foi enviada à banca de especialistas, que atribuíram notas de zero a dez, analisaram e sugeriram alterações para a versão consenso. Em relação às notas atribuídas, o protocolo em si foi a seção melhor avaliada (média 8,7). Houve diferença de notas entre as seções avaliadas pelos brasileiros (p=0,003), sendo que a nota da seção de apresentação foi menor do que as demais. Após a avaliação pelos especialistas, as devidas alterações foram realizadas. Após todo esse processo, foi possível traduzir e adaptar transculturalmente o Protocolo de Avaliação de Voz do Deficiente Auditivo (PAV-DA) para a língua inglesa, cuja versão final foi intitulada Protocol for the Evaluation of Voice in Subjects with Hearing Impairment (PEV-SHI). / Most objective and formal instruments available for voice assessment and diagnosis used by speech-language pathologists and audiologists in Brazil are translated and adapted from a foreign language into Brazilian Portuguese, since the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of existent instruments promote a better understanding of human communication disorders. In addition, there is a paucity of instruments specifically focused on the evaluation of voice in subjects with hearing impairment who have compromised vocal characteristics due to the lack of auditory monitoring during oral communication. Thus, this study aimed at translating and cross-culturally adapting the Protocolo de Avaliação de Voz do Deficiente Auditivo (PAV-DA) into English, providing different populations with an English language version of the protocol for clinical practice in global contexts. The authors of the original instrument, which was developed by the University of Brasilia- UnB, in partnership with the Bauru School of Dentistry University of São Paulo, have authorized the use of it in this study. The protocol itself and four auxiliary sections (Presentation and Instructions; Definitions of Voice, Speech, Voice Problem, Speech Problem; Questionnaire I; Questionnaire II) used for the validation in the Brazilian Portuguese were translated and cross-culturally adapted into English. A committee composed of ten expert speech-language pathologists and audiologists, five Brazilians and five North Americans, analyzed the translated material based on semantic, idiomatic, experimental and conceptual equivalences. The scores given by the committee were compared by using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) as a criterion for repeated measures and the Tukey test as a post-test, with 5% level of significance (p<0.05). First, the material was translated from Brazilian Portuguese into English by a professional of the Translation field. After that, it was back-translated, that is, translated again, from English into Brazilian Portuguese, by a second translator. Subsequently, a third professional created the consensus version, by means of comparison between the previous versions of the material. Finally, the consensus version was sent to the committee of experts, who rated it from zero to ten, analyzed it and suggested alterations for the consensus version. In relation to the obtained scores, the protocol itself was the best rated section (average 8.7). There was a difference among the sections rated by the Brazilians (p=0.003). The ratings for the Presentation and Instructions section was lower than the others. After the experts rated the material, the appropriate alterations were made. At the end of this entire process, it was possible to translate and cross-culturally adapt the material, whose final version is entitled Protocol for the Evaluation of Voice in Subjects with Hearing Impairment (PEV-SHI).