Objectives: To adapt the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire into the Maltese language and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Maltese version of the questionnaire for hearing children.
Methods: The English version of LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire was adapted into Maltese using a translation/back translation procedure. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 398 parents of normal hearing children aged between 5 days and 36 months completed the Maltese version of LittlEARS®. Psychometric validation was performed through scale analysis, item analysis, and analysis of reliability and validity. A non-linear regression model was derived to obtain normative data for expected and minimum values of total scores from the questionnaire according to age.
Results: Predictive accuracy (Guttman's lambda) was 0.921, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient value was 0.921, and the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.949. The Pearson correlation coefficient between scores and age was 0.903. The regression analysis showed that 82% of the variance in the total scores can be explained by age. Norm curves were comparable to the original German data.
Conclusion: This study confirmed that the Maltese version of LittlEARS® is a valid and reliable tool to evaluate auditory development in children less than two years of age.
Keywords: LittlEARS; Maltese; auditory questionnaire; hearing screening; normative assessment.