Turkish version of the VFS-A-40 (Taşdemir et al., 2024)

Purpose: Listening-related fatigue (LRF) is a prominent topic of research interest. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the 40-item Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults (TR-VFS-A-40).

Method: This study included 317 adults with no hearing loss and 260 adults with hearing loss in the study group, totaling 577 adults aged 18–75 years. While 31 adults in the study group did not use any hearing technology, there were 96 hearing aid users and 123 cochlear implant (CI) users. A subset of 80 CI users completed the TR-VFS-A-40 a second time, 2 weeks later, to assess test–retest reliability. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to assess test–retest reliability. Cronbach’s alpha was used to evaluate internal consistency. To examine construct validity, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. For concurrent validity analysis, the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) and TR-VFS-A-40 scores were analyzed using the Spearman correlation test.

Results: Cronbach’s alpha values were excellent for the total scale of .987 and the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social subscales (.953, .954, .955, and .946, respectively). Analyses of concurrent validity revealed strong and significant correlations between CIS and TR-VFS-A-40 scores, indicating a good concurrent validity. The CFA determined that the construct validity of the TR-VFS-A-40 was satisfactory.

Conclusion: The TR-VFS-A-40 is a valid and reliable measure of LRF.

Supplemental Material S1. Item and dimension characteristics of the TR-VFS-A-40.

Supplemental Material S2. Confirmatory factor analysis result of TR-VFS-A-40.

Taşdemir, İ., Türkyılmaz, M. D., & Hornsby, B. W. Y. (2024). Reliability and validity of the Turkish Version of the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults. American Journal of Audiology, 33(2), 532–542. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-23-00209