Clinical study of Widex Senso on first-time hearing aid users

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Hearing Aid Technology
• Psychoacoustics

Background:

• First-time hearing aid users often face challenges with comfort and speech clarity.
• Analogue hearing aids represent a benchmark for comparison in hearing rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clinically evaluate the performance of Widex Senso (WS) digital hearing aids against traditional analogue models.
• To assess user satisfaction and audiological benefit in new hearing aid wearers.

Main Methods:

• Psychoacoustic tests and standardized questionnaires were employed.
• 200 first-time hearing aid users were randomly assigned to Widex Senso (behind-the-ear or in-the-canal models) or analogue hearing aids.
• Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and sound field thresholds were measured.

Main Results:

• Widex Senso hearing aids demonstrated superior overall benefit compared to 29 analogue models from 10 manufacturers.
• User retention was high, with only 3% switching from WS to other devices.
• The APHAB scores indicated no compromise between user comfort and speech recognition.
• Median aided thresholds were below 25 dB HL up to 4 kHz.
• A 2.5 dB improvement in speech threshold in competing speech was observed.

Conclusions:

• Widex Senso digital hearing aids provide significant audiological and subjective benefits for new users.
• These digital hearing aids effectively balance speech intelligibility with user comfort.
• The study supports the efficacy of Widex Senso over a range of analogue hearing aid options.