Developing the Hungarian version of the MATCH test from the original German language: an evidence-based protocol for the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of paediatric speech audiometry tests from one language into another.

INTRODUCTION: Speech audiometry is widely used in routine clinical settings to assess auditory function in children. Appropriate test materials are available in languages such as English or German; however, formally validated translations do not exist in less widely spoken languages such as Hungarian. This protocol aims to describe an evidence-based process of translation, cultural adaptation and validation of a paediatric speech audiometry test from its original language into another. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Mainzer Audiometric Test for Children (MATCH) is a picture-pointing speech audiometry test for children aged 3-6 years. It will be translated from the original German into Hungarian in six phases: (1) identification of MATCH test items and validation of MATCH picture recognisability among children; (2) confirmation of linguistic conformity by comparing phoneme distribution of Hungarian test vocabulary to spontaneous Hungarian speech reference data; (3) recording of Hungarian speech material in a sound-treated environment complying with ISO 8253-3:2022 standards; (4) evaluation of the homogeneity of the intelligibility of the recorded Hungarian test items through speech recognition testing in adults; (5) standardisation of the Hungarian MATCH test on a cohort of normal-hearing children aged 3-6 years whose dominant language is Hungarian and (6) assessment of the diagnostic validity of the Hungarian version of the MATCH by comparing MATCH speech recognition thresholds to pure-tone audiometry results. To determine sensitivity, specificity and optimal cut-off points for the Hungarian test in detecting hearing loss among children aged 3-6 years, receiver operating characteristic analysis will be used. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The protocol has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT07156825), complies with the Declaration of Helsinki, and has been approved by the medical ethics committee at Semmelweis University Budapest (Ref. nr.: SE RKEB 312/2021). The study using the speech test is currently in progress. The results and conclusions will be shared with the scientific community through publication in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT07156825.