Two Tests for Quantifying Aided Hearing at Low- and High-Input Levels

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Hearing Science
• Speech and Hearing Sciences

Background:

• Hearing aid fitting often struggles with under- or overamplification of sound.
• Quantifying aided hearing across everyday sound levels is crucial for effective hearing aid use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate two new variants of the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) for assessing aided hearing at the lower and upper limits of everyday sound levels.
• To determine the test-retest reliability of these new HINT variants in adult hearing aid users.

Main Methods:

• 30 adult hearing aid users participated in the study.
• A test battery included the standard Danish HINT, a lower-threshold HINT variant, and an upper-threshold HINT variant.
• Participants completed the test battery twice to assess test-retest reliability.

Main Results:

• Both new HINT variants demonstrated high test-retest reliability, with small effect sizes for test-retest differences.
• Pearson correlation coefficients indicated strong and significant correlations between test and retest for all HINT versions.
• Within-subject standard deviations were 0.8 dB for standard HINT, 0.9 dB for the lower-end test, and 2.2 dB for the upper-end test.

Conclusions:

• The new lower-end and upper-end HINT variants provide consistent and reliable measurements of aided hearing.
• These tests are valuable tools for optimizing hearing aid amplification and improving patient outcomes.