A Comparison of Three Hearing-Aid Sound-Processing Strategies in a Multiple-Memory Hearing Aid for Adolescents

Abstract

This study of 12 adolescents, ages 9 to 14 years, evaluated the performance of three different sound-processing strategies within the same hearing aid. These strategies included (1) linear amplification with peak clipping, (2) linear amplification with compression limiting, and (3) wide dynamic range compression. Each strategy was evaluated using objective measures of speech recognition in quiet and in babble after a 2-month wearing period. Following the evaluation of all three strategies, the subjects' hearing aids were programmed with all three strategies in memory that could be accessed via a remote control. The processing strategies were also compared by determining the signal-to-noise ratio for 50% correct identification of words in sentences. Finally, a diary of memory usage was completed to evaluate how successfully adolescents can utilize multiple-memory hearing aids. Results indicated no significant performance differences between the three hearing aid processing strategies on the objective outcome measures. However, subjects reported liking the ability to switch between memories and to use a remote control.

Keywords:

Hearing aids - pediatric audiology - hearing loss

*Data for this project was collected at the author's previous affiliation: Louisiana State University Medical Center, Department of Communication Disorders, New Orleans, LA