The value of speech audiometry in hearing-aid rehabilitation

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the aided speech recognition score (SRS) as predictor of HA-use by relating aided SRS measurements to an extensive questionnaire describing the self-assessed use and benefit of an in-the-canal hearing aid (Danavox 131). A sample of 124 subjects with moderate, predominantly sensorineural hearing loss, 61 males and 63 females at a median age of 68 years, range 21-89, were included in the present investigation. The hearing-aid fitting was checked by insertion gain measurements based on the POGO amplification strategy, and the improvement in word recognition offered by the aid was expressed as the difference between the aided and unaided SRS measured in background noise (SRSN) (S/N = + 10 dB). Correlations between the aided SRSN and questions concerning the use and benefit of this type of hearing aid were performed after subdividing the sample into two age groups, below and above 70 years of age, in order to avoid differences in hearing aid gain which could be ascribed to an age effect. The results demonstrated that a prediction of the aided SRSN from the unaided SRSN can be performed. However, no significant correlation between the self-assessed time-related use, situational use or satisfaction and the aided SRSN could be found. It is concluded that aided SRSN with this clinical setup cannot predict the use or benefit of a modern hearing aid, though the measurements may, in combination with insertion gain measurements, prove useful for the comparison between different hearing aids, also in the individual person.