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Does bilateral hearing aid fitting improve spatial hearing ability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sathish Kumar1, Srikanth Nayak2, Vibha Kanagokar1
1Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Bilateral hearing aids do not improve sound localization abilities in individuals with hearing impairment. Spatial hearing performance is significantly better without hearing aids, indicating a need for better assistive listening device technology.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Engineering
Background:
- Sound localization is vital for spatial awareness and detecting auditory cues.
- Hearing impairment negatively impacts sound localization.
- Hearing aid use can further degrade localization abilities, despite numerous studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and assess if bilateral hearing aid fitting enhances spatial hearing ability compared to unaided conditions.
- To address the research question: "Do behavioural measures of spatial hearing ability improve with bilateral hearing aid fitting compared to the unaided hearing condition?"
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted from 1965 to 2022.
- Inclusion/exclusion criteria followed the PICOS format.
- Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE guidelines.
Main Results:
- 17 studies were included for qualitative synthesis, and 15 for quantitative synthesis.
- Localization performance was significantly better in the unaided condition for both vertical and horizontal planes.
- Moderate certainty of evidence suggests hearing aids do not improve spatial hearing.
Conclusions:
- Bilateral hearing aid fitting does not preserve crucial spatial cues.
- Hearing aid use results in poorer sound localization performance regardless of the assessment plane.
- Current hearing aid technology may not adequately address spatial hearing deficits.
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