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Associations between aided speech audiometry and subjective assessment of hearing aid outcomes
Jungmin Ahn1, Jihyun Lim2, Minwoong Kang2
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
This study aimed to analyse outcomes with hearing aid (HA) use and to determine whether common audiological tests, including pure-tone audiometry or word recognition test, correlate with HA wearers' subjective benefit.
Design:
A retrospective chart review.
Study Sample:
A total of 129 patients who adopted new HAs between January 2011 and December 2018 were enrolled. Outcome measures including pure tone thresholds, word recognition score (WRS), and self-reported questionnaires were obtained 1, 4, and 12 months post fit.
Results:
The mean aided threshold and WRS at each post-fit visit significantly improved from the unaided condition. Self-reported outcomes confirmed by the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) scores significantly improved compared to the unaided condition at 1- and 4-month follow-up. Results of the regression analysis indicated that the aided WRS score is a significant factor at all post-fit visits that explains less than 10% of the variance in HHIE scores.
Conclusions:
Aided WRS is the factor most associated with subjectively reported HA outcomes, both in the short- and long term. Therefore, aided WRS should be considered as a useful tool for evaluating HA benefits, even after the prolonged use of HAs.
