Methods for comparing hearing-aid programs in group conversations: paired comparisons and ratings

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Hearing Science
• Psychophysics

Background:

• Evaluating hearing aid performance in real-world listening situations is crucial.
• Traditional methods may not fully capture user experience in dynamic environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of paired comparisons and ratings for evaluating two hearing aid programs.
• To assess these methods in live group conversation settings.

Main Methods:

• 27 experienced hearing aid users with moderate hearing loss participated.
• Participants engaged in live group conversations using binaural hearing aids with two directionality programs.
• Paired comparisons and post-conversation ratings were used to assess hearing aid function, ease of communication, and conversation flow.

Main Results:

• Both methods yielded consistent results, with the preferred program in paired comparisons also receiving higher ratings.
• Paired comparisons were more effective at detecting differences between hearing aid programs at both population and individual levels.
• Conversation flow ratings were generally high across both methods.

Conclusions:

• Both paired comparison and rating methods are suitable for evaluating hearing aid settings during live group conversations.
• The paired comparison method offers slightly higher sensitivity in detecting differences between hearing aid programs.
• User experience regarding conversation flow is positive with tested hearing aid settings.