| Transitioning hearing aid users with severe and profound loss to a new gain/frequency response: benefit, perception, and acceptance. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 21545769 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Background: Adults with severe and profound hearing loss tend to be long-term, full-time users of amplification who are highly reliant on their hearing aids. As a result of these characteristics, they are often reluctant to update their hearing aids when new features or signal-processing algorithms become available. Due to the electroacoustic constraints of older devices, many severely and profoundly hearing-impaired adults continue to wear hearing aids that provide more low- and mid-frequency gain and less high-frequency gain than would be prescribed by the National Acoustic Laboratories' revised formula with profound correction factor (NAL-RP). Purpose: To investigate the effect of a gradual change in gain/frequency response on experienced hearing-aid wearers with moderately severe to profound hearing loss. Research Design: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Study Sample: Twenty-three experienced adult hearing-aid users with severe and profound hearing loss participated in the study. Participants were selected for inclusion in the study if the gain/frequency response of their own hearing aids differed significantly from their NAL-RP prescription. Participants were assigned either to a control or to an experimental group balanced for aided ear three-frequency pure-tone average (PTA) and age. Intervention: Participants were fitted with Siemens Artis 2 SP behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids that were matched to the gain/frequency response of their own hearing aids for a 65 dB SPL input level. The experimental group progressed incrementally to their NAL-RP targets over the course of 15 wk, while the control group maintained their initial settings throughout the study. Data Collection and Analysis: Aided speech discrimination testing, loudness scaling, and structured questionnaires were completed at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 wk postfitting. A paired comparison between the old and new gain/frequency responses was completed at 1 and 15 wk postfitting. Statistical analysis was conducted to examine differences between the experimental and control groups and changes in objective performance and subjective perception over time. Results: The results of the study showed that participants in the experimental group were subjectively accepting of the changes to their amplification characteristics, as evidenced by nonsignificant changes in the ratings of device performance over time. Perception of loudness, sound quality, speech intelligibility, and own voice volume did not change significantly throughout the study. Objectively, participants in the experimental group demonstrated poorer speech discrimination performance as the study progressed, although there was no change in objective loudness perception. According to the paired comparison, there was an overall subjective preference for the original gain/frequency response among all participants, although participants in the experimental group did show an increase in preference for the NAL-RP response by the end of the study. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, we suggest that undertaking a gradual change to a new gain/frequency response with severely and profoundly hearing-impaired adults is a feasible procedure. However, we recommend that clinicians select transition candidates carefully and initiate the procedure only if there is a clinical reason for doing so. A validated prescriptive formula should be used as a transition target, and speech discrimination performance should be monitored throughout the transition. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Elizabeth Convery; Gitte Keidser |
Related Documents
:
|
6500829 - Ozena as presenting symptom of a rare and severe genetic disease: hypohidrotic ectoderm... 6944129 - Binge eating: a theoretical review. 2605969 - Practical problems in interim analyses, with particular regard to estimation. 7552519 - Insights from monitoring the cpcra didanosine/zalcitabine trial. terry beirn community ... 288439 - Intrarectal dermoid: report of a case. 12236199 - Monitoring indicates safe-sex relapse in boston. 11775719 - Evaluations of the quality of coping reported by prisoners who have self-harmed and tho... 20831729 - Bird community specialization, bird conservation and disturbance: the role of wildfires. 8720629 - Effect of concentration problems on the malleability of children's aggressive and shy b... |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Journal of the American Academy of Audiology Volume: 22 ISSN: 1050-0545 ISO Abbreviation: J Am Acad Audiol Publication Date: 2011 Mar |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2011-05-06 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 9114646 Medline TA: J Am Acad Audiol Country: Canada |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 168-80 Citation Subset: IM |
Copyright Information:
|
American Academy of Audiology. |
Affiliation:
|
National Acoustic Laboratories, Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia; HEARing Cooperative Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Working memory supports listening in noise for persons with hearing impairment.
Next Document: Behavioral and electrophysiologic binaural processing in persons with symmetric hearing loss.