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Hearing Aid Technology Settings and Speech-in-Noise Difficulties
Alyssa Davidson1, Nicole Marrone2, Pamela Souza1
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
American Journal of Audiology
|February 8, 2022
Summary
Advanced hearing aid features are often not optimized for users
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Hearing Science
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Hearing aids are the primary intervention for hearing loss.
- Optimal use of advanced hearing aid features is not well-defined.
- Clinical practice may not align with patient needs for speech-in-noise abilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the utilization of advanced hearing aid features in clinically fitted devices.
- To evaluate the relationship between hearing aid feature settings and speech-in-noise performance.
- To identify potential mismatches between hearing aid settings and user needs.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of data from 107 bilateral hearing aid users (ages 60-93).
- Evaluation of speech-in-noise difficulty using the Quick Speech-in-Noise Test (QuickSIN).
- Documentation of directionality (omnidirectional, fixed, adaptive), digital noise reduction (DNR), and hearing assistive technology (HAT) use.
Main Results:
- QuickSIN scores indicated mild to severe speech-in-noise difficulties.
- Adaptive directionality was most common; DNR was frequently enabled; HAT use was low.
- Significant associations found between directionality settings and speech-in-noise difficulty levels.
Conclusions:
- Advanced hearing aid features are not consistently set to match users' speech-in-noise abilities.
- Suboptimal feature settings may lead to increased listening difficulties in noisy environments.
- Further research is needed to guide patient-centered clinical decisions using prefitting speech-in-noise measures.
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