Chapter 10 - Application of fuzzy PROMETHEE on hearing aid

Abstract

Hearing aids are grouped into two types: air conduction hearing aids and bone conduction hearing aids. Several hearing aids have been developed to suit each type of hearing loss. The selection of a hearing aid is largely dependent on the patient because the audiologist's role is to present styles and specificities of the suitable hearing aid styles for a patient but may not necessarily appropriate for a patient's desires. Hearing aid selection and fittings are carried out in order to provide devices that ease difficulty in communication, allow a patient to hear comfortably, and easily adapt to a patient's lifestyle, while improving hearing performance in different listening environment. This study is aimed at finding the most appropriate hearing aids to maximize effective communication and facilitate social independence in individuals with hearing loss. The following criteria were used in the study to evaluate the hearing aid styles: price, durability, battery, wireless connectivity, frequency range, comfort, and the level of hearing loss. The hearing aid styles used in this study are the behind-the-ear (BTE), inside-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), completely-in-canal (CIC), receiver-in-canal (RIC), and invisible-in-canal (IIC). This chapter incorporates the above-mentioned criteria using fuzzy preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) for the evaluation of quantitative and qualitative units for each criteria. Among the evaluated hearing aid styles, the ITC and BTE were found to be the most preferred types when fitted for moderate and severe hearing losses respectively. ITE also performed well in the analysis when compared to other types of hearing aids. The easy amplification of the high-pitched sounds and comfort contribute to its superiority over the other hearing aid types. The CIC and IIC were found to be less favorable and would only applicable for mild hearing losses.