The reliability and validity of decreased sound tolerance scale-screening

Abstract Objectives: Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST) is a negative reaction to a sound that does not cause any reaction in an individual with normal hearing. DST’s subclasses include hyperacusis, phonophobia, and misophonia, which are distinct and have therapy variations. There is no diagnostic method or scale that distinguishes them in the literature. This study’s purpose was to develop a screening scale that distinguishes these three DSTs. Methods: The study comprised 257 willing participants with normal hearing. Cronbach alpha coefficient, item-total correlation, and item differentiation of the Decreased Sound Tolerance Scale-Screening (DSTS-S) were evaluated. Structural validity of DSTS-S was performed by Varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization using Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to assess its structural compatibility. The scale’s total scores from each section were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test in symptom (+) and symptom (–) participants. Results: The Cronbach alpha value for hyperacusis, phonophobia, and misophonia sections of DSTS-S was calculated as 0.881, 0.775, and 0.938, respectively. The difference between the independent samplet-test and the variables was statistically significant (p<0.01). The Mann-Whitney U test showed a significant difference between the median values of the total groups ’scores with and without hyperacusis, phonophobia, and misophonia (HTS, PTS, and MTS, respectively) (p<0.05). Evaluation by ROC analysis showed that hyperacusis was useful in predicting the presence of hyperacusis, phonophobia was useful in predicting the presence of phonophobia, and misophonia was useful in predicting the presence of misophonia (p< 0.001). Hyperacusis and misophonia sections showed high reliability, and phonophobia section showed a moderately reliable level. The Kappa test showed that the compatibility between test–retest for the total scores was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study’s results indicated that DSTS-S is a valid and reliable scale for identifying subtypes/problems/classes of decreased sound tolerance.