Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2025
A Method for Quantifying Upper Limb Performance in Daily Life Using Accelerometers
Published on: April 21, 2017
Investigating Bimodal Fitting Solutions in Children
Julia Reid1, Robert T Dwyer2, Smita Agrawal2
1Potomac River Clinic, The River School, Washington, DC.
Purpose:
The effectiveness of a dedicated bimodal hearing aid and fitting formula was investigated in pediatric cochlear implant recipients who were experienced Desired Sensation Level (DSL) v5.0 users.
Method:
In Experiment 1, five children assessed four hearing aid fittings based on combinations of fitting formula (Adaptive Phonak Digital Bimodal [APDB], DSL v5.0, APDB fit to DSL v5.0 targets), hearing aid type (dedicated hearing aid for bimodal listeners, independent hearing aid), and/or prescriptive targets. Speech recognition scores were obtained in a sound booth in quiet and in noise. In Experiment 2, two participants from Experiment 1 were retested with an updated bimodal system.
Results:
Bimodal speech recognition in quiet in both experiments was similar across all fitting formulas. In Experiment 1, bimodal speech recognition in noise was similar across fitting formulas; however, both in noise and in quiet, individual differences were observed. In Experiment 2, optimized APDB improved speech recognition in noise performance compared to APDB and similar performance compared to DSL v5.0 in a small set of bimodal listeners.
Conclusion:
Preliminary results point to the value of individualized selection of hearing aid fitting formula settings for pediatric bimodal recipients.
