Abstract
The main problem in attempting to estimate auditory handicap from easily measured indices such as pure-tone sensitivity or intelligibility scores for numbers, words or sentences is that no criterion to establish validity has received wide acceptance. The definition of handicap accepted by the American Medical Association is so vague that it is of little practical value. All formulae to rate handicap are based on assumptions of a more or less arbitrary nature. A dozen such assumptions are shown to underly the formula of the American Medical Association/American Academy of Otolaryngology.

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