Types Of Hearing Aids Research Articles

Evaluation of Communication Outcomes With Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids.

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids are a treatment option for adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Previous investigations demonstrated the benefits of OTC hearing aids, primarily self-fit OTCs (i.e., self-adjustable with a smartphone or tablet), on self-reported hearing aid benefit and speech recognition using standardized measures. However, less is known regarding whether OTC hearing aids effectively improve aspects of everyday communication, particularly with preprogrammed OTCs (i.e., OTCs with manufacturer-defined programs). The goal of this study was to evaluate the benefits of preprogrammed OTC hearing aids for two important aspects of communication: (1) conversation efficiency, or the time taken during conversations with a familiar communication partner (e.g., one's spouse) and (2) auditory recall following speech recognition, a critical aspect of participation during conversations. This study used a within-subject design with thirty adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss and their familiar communication partners. Participants were fitted with preprogrammed OTC hearing aids using the default program with the best match to target for each listener. The primary outcome measures were conversation efficiency and auditory recall. Speech recognition-in-noise served as a secondary measure. Conversation efficiency was evaluated using the DiapixUK task, a "spot-the-difference" conversation task in quiet, and measured as the sum of time taken to correctly identify differences between two similar pictures. Within-subject comparisons were made for hearing aid condition (without and with OTC hearing aids in the default setting). Auditory recall was assessed with the Repeat and Recall Test following speech recognition-in-noise with low- and high-context sentence presentations at 5- and 10-dB signal to noise ratios. In addition to the mentioned hearing aid conditions, an additional comparison was made with the OTC hearing aid noise-reduction program. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the effect of OTC hearing aid use on primary measures of efficiency and recall. Friedman signed-rank test was used to evaluate speech recognition scores. We did not find a significant improvement in conversation efficiency with OTC hearing aid use compared with the unaided condition. For auditory recall, we observed the poorest median recall scores with the default program and the best median scores with the noise-reduction program, although neither observation was statistically significant. Sentence recognition scores were near ceiling in the unaided condition and were poorest with use of the OTC hearing aids in the default program across most signal to noise ratio and context test conditions. Our findings did not show improvements in communication outcomes with OTC hearing aid use. Small to medium effect sizes for our data may be indicative of the limitations of the OTC hearing aids to improve communication outcomes for our sampled population and communication scenarios. The results of this study provide insights into the effects of OTC hearing aids on communication abilities at first fitting. We identified features of preprogrammed OTC hearing aids that may be limiting potential communication benefits among listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Future investigations that compare communication outcomes across various types of OTC hearing aids may provide valuable insights for identifying the most suitable recipients for specific OTC hearing aid models.

Factors affecting the speech intelligibility of children with hearing impairment

Background: Children with hearing impairment have difficulties affecting their ability to understand speech and general communication development. It is essential to understand the background of the factors affecting young children's speech intelligibility in the Pakistani setting. Objective: To explore the factors affecting speech intelligibility among children with hearing impairment. Methods: A total of n=107 individuals were selected for the 6-month study at GMT clinic, Siemens Hearing Clinic, Hearing and Speech Care Clinic, and RHS in Islamabad using non-probability convenience sampling. Children between the ages of 6 and 12 who had mild to profound sensorineural hearing loss and could express themselves at the phrase level met the inclusion criteria. Speech-impairing conditions and progressive or conductive hearing loss were included in the exclusion criteria. Using the Assessing Intelligibility Worksheet, data was collected, in which 17 utterances with 57 words spoken by the therapist participants were repeated and the responses were noted by the therapist. Multiple linear regression, descriptive statistics, and percentage distribution were all analyzed using SPSS 21. Results: A multiple regression model was run to predict intelligibility utterance from age, gender, type of hearing aid, technology of hearing aid, degrees of hearing loss, and talkativeness. This model significantly predicted speech intelligibility of hearing aid users {F (8, 98) = 42.905, p<0.001}. All variables cause 77.8% (Adj. R2=.778) variance in speech intelligibility of hearing aid users. Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a considerable impact of gender, the technology of hearing aids, degree of hearing loss, and talkativeness level on speech intelligibility while no significant impact of types of hearing aids concerning Behind the ear and receiver in the canal on children's speech intelligibility.

Gesture generation by the robotic hand for aiding speech and hard of hearing persons based on indian sign language

Speech and hearing impairments are among the most common problems in Indian societies. It can affect anyone, whether children, adults, or more. Many different treatments can help to overcome hearing problems. Different types of hearing aids and cochlear implants help amplify sounds for better hearing. The type of language known as sign language is very scientific and has its grammar and syntax. Still, due to a need for more awareness among hard-of-hearing persons, they need to be made familiar with the institutions where they can learn and equip themselves for communication. This paper describes an approach to aid speech and hard-of-hearing persons so that they are free to communicate with persons who do not have speech and hearing disabilities based on the Indian Sign Language System. To find an appropriate solution, there is a need to develop a system that can act as an interpreter for speech and hard-of-hearing persons. The interpreter system is designed with the help of the Robotic hand model and is programmed using Raspberry Pi 4. Based on the experimental results, it can be observed that the robotic hands generated different signs of the alphabet corresponding to the speech commands uttered by an individual. Several experimental trials were conducted by ten persons who do not have any hearing disabilities. The results of the five experimental trials are shown in this paper. The estimation of performance parameters and statistical analysis are also carried out to analyze better and interpret the experimental results. Based on the experimental results, the proposed robotic hand interpreter system model accurately generates gestures corresponding to different alphabets used in the Indian Sign Language system, yielding an overall accuracy of 94 percent.

External auditory canal reconstruction using a novel mastoidoplasty technique during canal wall down mastoidectomy: how I do it.

While mastoid obliteration techniques have received much attention in decreasing the disadvantages associated with the resultant mastoid cavity from canal wall down procedures, techniques for an anatomically normal looking ear canal reconstruction to increase the feasibility of hearing aid fitting are less commonly discussed as an alternative. Our mastoidoplasty technique basically utilises an inferiorly based periosteal flap with or without temporalis muscles and fascia to obliterate the epitympanum and reconstruct the external auditory canal (EAC). Stay sutures are used to keep them in place. For larger cavities, demineralized bone matrix (DBM) is used to obliterate the mastoid cavity and support the neo-EAC. The concept of our mastoidoplasty potentially provides a very useful alternative in recreating a near normal ear canal anatomy avoiding cavity problems as well as facilitating hearing aid fitting with canal type hearing aids after canal wall down mastoidectomy.

A Novel Surgical Technique for BAHA<sup>®</sup> Attract Implantation

An implantable bone conduction hearing aid is a device that assists hearing by transmitting sound vibration through the bone. It is suitable not only for patients with conductive hearing loss and congenital external aural atresia but also for those with unilateral hearing loss, chronic otitis media, or patients whose normal structure has been destroyed due to previous surgery. In this paper, we introduce a novel surgical technique for an implantable bone conduction hearing aid (BAHA<sup>®</sup> Attract) that can be performed through minimal incision in a short time under local anesthesia based on accurate anatomical characteristics. We believe this novel technique could provide convenience for patients and surgeons. Additionally, through this technique, we can expect that various types of implantable bone conduction hearing aids that function effectively and safely can be provided for patients.

Hearing Aid in Vestibular-Schwannoma-Related Hearing Loss: A Review.

(1) Background: Several types of hearing aids are available for the rehabilitation of vestibular-schwannoma (VS)-related hearing loss. There is a lack of recently published papers regarding this theme. The aim of the present work is to organize current knowledge. (2) Methods: A review of the literature regarding the topics "vestibular schwannoma", "hearing loss", and "hearing aid" was performed. Nineteen studies were thus considered. (3) Results: Conventional hearing aids, contralateral routing of signal (CROS) aids, bone anchored hearing aids (BAHA), and others are available options for hearing rehabilitation in VS patients. The speech discrimination score (SDS) is considered the best measure to assess candidacy for rehabilitation with hearing aids. The best hearing rehabilitative conditions in VS patients when using conventional hearing aid devices are a mild-moderate hearing loss degree with good word recognition (more than 50% SDS). CROS-Aid and BAHA are reported to be beneficial. CROS-Aid expands on the area of receiving hearing. BAHA aids use direct bone-conduction stimulation. Unfortunately, there are no available studies focused specifically on VS patients that compare CROS and BAHA technologies. (4) Conclusions: Hearing aids, CROS, and BAHA are viable options for rehabilitating hearing impairment in VS, but require an accurate case-by-case audiological evaluation for rehabilitating hearing impairment in VS. Further studies are needed to prove if what is currently known about similar hearing illnesses can be confirmed, particularly in the case of VS.

Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aids in Clinical Practice.

A relatively loud sound is audible when a vibrator is attached to the aural cartilage. This form of conduction is referred to as cartilage conduction (CC). In Japan, a new type of hearing aid has been developed using CC and has been available in clinical practice since 2017. A clinical study conducted prior to its launch demonstrated its benefits, particularly in patients with aural atresia who were unable to use air conduction hearing aids. Several studies have been published on the benefits of CC hearing aids since their introduction into clinical practice. Most of the patients included in these studies had canal stenosis or aural atresia, and the purchase rates of CC hearing aids in these patients were relatively high. However, the number of patients with canal-open ears was small, with overall poor results in the trials, with the exception of patients with continuous otorrhea. CC hearing aids are considered a good option for compensating for hearing loss in ears with canal stenosis or atresia in both bilateral and unilateral cases. However, CC hearing aids are not currently considered the first choice for patients with a canal-open ear.

Examination of Factors Affecting the Likelihood of Whether Individuals Would Purchase Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aids.

Cartilage conduction hearing aids (CC-HAs) are a novel type of hearing aid relying on cartilage conduction, the so-called third auditory conduction pathway. However, CC-HAs have only recently entered routine clinical use, and therefore data on their usefulness are lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of assessing whether individual patients would show good adaptation to CC-HAs. Thirty-three subjects (41 ears in total) underwent a free trial of CC-HAs. Age, disease category, and the pure-tone threshold of air and bone conduction, unaided field sound threshold, aided field sound threshold, and functional gain (FG) at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz were compared between patients who subsequently purchased and did not purchase the CC-HAs. Overall, 65.9% of the subjects purchased CC-HAs after the trial. In comparison to non-purchasers, those who decided to purchase CC-HAs showed better pure tone hearing thresholds at high frequencies for both air conduction (2 and 4 kHz) and bone conduction (1, 2, and 4 kHz), as well as for aided thresholds in the sound field (1, 2, and 4 kHz) when using CC-HAs. Therefore, the high-frequency hearing thresholds of subjects trialing CC-HAs might be helpful for identifying those who are likely to benefit from them.

Pilot Cap Acoustic Transparency for Pediatric Amplification Devices

Consistent hearing device use in young children with hearing loss is challenging for families. A hearing aid accessory, called a pilot cap, is often recommended to families to help mitigate the issues around device retention. Although pilot caps are commonly suggested to families, there is sparse data available about how acoustically transparent they are when used with a hearing aid. The purpose of this study was to measure the acoustic transparency when a hearing aid functions under a pilot cap accessory. The Verifit 2 Hearing Aid Analyzer and the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) were used to measure acoustic transparency related to access of aided speech. Measurements involved four hearing aids that are commonly fit on pediatric patients and four different commercially available pilot caps. SII data were collected at two intensity levels for four simulated sensorineural hearing losses (SNHLs). Response differences between acoustic measurements with a hearing aid plus a pilot cap compared with the hearing aid alone (control) were collected. A total of 80 SII measurements were made. There were 16 SII measurements of the hearing aid alone (control conditions) and 64 SII measurements with combinations of the hearing aids and pilot caps selected for this study. For each hearing aid, there was no significant difference between the SII measurements collected for the hearing aid alone and the hearing aid plus a pilot cap. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the different pilot caps used with each hearing aid tested. Pilot cap use with the four types of hearing aids in this study results in no significant differences in acoustic transparency compared with the control condition. The data in this study support the use of the pilot caps for hearing device retention in children with hearing loss. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22647217.

Prediction of high-power hearing aid for audiology patients using data mining techniques

Our research examined two of unsupervised Data Mining algorithms for both comparison and prediction to predict the High-Power Hearing Aid for audiology patients who suffer from hearing impairment. These Data Mining techniques are Manifold Learning and Multidimensional Scaling. Both algorithms define specific rules to choose the linear projection of the data. These methods can be effective, but sometimes miss the structure of non-linear data. Our research deals with new specific data set which collects and analyses depends on Audiology information and Patient's diagnosis. Note that the data set selected must be subject to accurate data analysis with pre-processing of data. It should be applicable and authoritative because these factors are very important to obtain the highest degree of prediction possible, as long, some data types are not appropriate for decision tree or some methods of classification. The data set we created consists of seventy-two fields distributed on seventy-one fields for data details and one further for class. All data set fields are categorical, and it contains some of missing values. The fact that our data was subjected to a very accurate analysis (before cleaning) based on the correct medical diagnosis and comprehensive information of the most important points that directly affect the selection of appropriate hearing aid for audiology patient, and via applying data mining techniques, we obtained a prediction of 100% for hearing aid selection, and 98% to determine which power type of hearing aid that those patients should use. To reach our goal, we examined Data Mining techniques utilizing Python for coding and modelling.

Audiological assessment with Matrix sentence test of percutaneous vs transcutaneous bone-anchored hearing aids: a pilot study.

The study evaluated if there were differences between two types of bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHA), percutaneous vs transcutaneous implants in terms of audiological and psychosocial outcomes. Eleven patients were enrolled. Inclusion criteria were: patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss in the implanted ear with a bone conduction pure-tone average (BC PTA) of the hearing threshold at 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000Hz ≤ 55dB HL, aged > 5years. Patients were assigned to two groups: percutaneous implant (BAHA Connect) and transcutaneous implant (BAHA Attract). Pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, free-field pure-tone and speech audiometry with the hearing aid, and Matrix sentence test were performed. The Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire, the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) questionnaire, and the Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI) were used to assess the psychosocial and audiological benefits provided by the implant, and the variation in the quality of life after the surgery. No differences were found comparing the data of Matrix SRT. APHAB and GBI questionnaires did not show a statistically significant difference comparing each subscale and the global score. The comparison of scores obtained from the SADL questionnaire demonstrated a difference in the "Personal Image" subscale with a better score for the transcutaneous implant. Furthermore, the Global Score of the SADL questionnaire was statistically different between groups. Other subscales did not show any significant difference. A Spearman's ρ correlation test was used to evaluate if the age could influence the SRT results; no correlation was found between age and SRT. Furthermore, the same test was used to confirm a negative correlation between SRT and the global benefit of the APHAB questionnaire. The current research confirms the absence of statistically significant differences comparing percutaneous and transcutaneous implants. The Matrix sentence test has shown the comparability of the two implants in the speech-in-noise intelligibility. Actually, the choice of the implant type can be done according to the patient's personal needs, the surgeon's experience, and the patient anatomy.

The Prevalence of Hearing Aid Use in Children With Single-Sided Sensorineural Deafness in Oxfordshire

The Prevalence of Hearing Aid Use in Children With Single-Sided Sensorineural Deafness in Oxfordshire

Hearing Rehabilitation Experiences With Osia<sup>®</sup>2 Bone Conduction Hearing Implant in Patients With Iatrogenic Unilateral Hearing Loss

Various types of bone conduction hearing aids have been widely used for hearing rehabilitation for the last 30 years. Among them, the recently launched Osia<sup>®</sup>2 system is a new active transcutaneous bone conduction implant system using piezoelectric effect. This can be expected to deliver more efficient sound transmission, overcome sound attenuation, and improve high-frequency hearing than conventional passive transcutaneous hearing aids, and is considered to be cosmetically superior to percutaneous hearing aids. Recently, we experienced two cases of Osia<sup>®</sup>2 implantation in patients with iatrogenic unilateral hearing loss. Both patients showed improved pure tone threshold and better Korean Hearing in Noise Test (K-HINT) score after implantation. Furthermore, all of them had no complications after Osia<sup>®</sup>2 implantation.

Rethinking the Audiogram for Hearing Aid Selection

Rethinking the Audiogram for Hearing Aid Selection

172 WHAT IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF CARE STAFF AND THE USE OF HEARING AIDS IN IRISH NURSING HOMES? A PILOT STUDY

Abstract Background Residents of nursing homes can be dependent on care staff for the insertion and maintenance of their hearing aids. There is no current research carried out in Irish nursing homes on this topic. Methods Using a quantitative study design participants were recruited from two Irish publicly-funded Nursing Homes. 58 Care staff participated in this study. Care staff completed a validated paper-based questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied. Kruskal Wallis H tests were used to examine if there was a statistically significant difference in questionnaire answers between three occupations: Healthcare Assistants, Nurses and Nurse Managers Results 15% of care staff agreed that they had received training in the use and care of hearing aids. 20% of care staff agreed that they knew the approximate lifetime of a hearing aid battery.100% of care staff agreed they need more information on the different types of hearing aids. 95% agreed that there is a need for information on hearing aid maintenance, and 88% of care staff agreed that they need more information on hearing loss among the older population. Conclusion This extensive data, the first of its kind in Ireland, shows us that care staff are very candid about the issues they confront and have demonstrated a willingness and openness to learning. It confirms the skills and information gap of care staff and there is great scope for training, and this will have a very positive impact on residents and care staff.

Extended wear hearing aids: a comparative, pilot study.

The study evaluated if there were differences between three types of hearing aids, Lyric extended wear (EW), receiver-in-the-ear canal (RITE), completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids in terms of audiological and psychosocial outcomes. Fifteen patients were selected. Pure-Tone Average (PTA) air conduction range of hearing threshold at 500, 1000, and 2000Hz from 15dB HL to 75dB HL. Patients were assigned in three groups according to the hearing aid used: Extended wear, RITE, and CIC. Pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, free-field pure-tone and speech audiometry with hearing aids, and Matrix sentence test were performed. The Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire and the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) questionnaire were used to assess the psychosocial and audiological benefits provided by hearing aids. No differences were demonstrated in the Matrix sentence test between the groups. A statistically significant difference was present between the "Personal image" of patients with EW and RITE with a p value of 0.01 (better outcome using EW). For the APHAB questionnaire, a significant difference was present in the "Aversiveness" of the patients with EW in comparison to CIC and RITE with a p value of 0.01 (higher aversiveness of sound using EW). In terms of audiological advantage, extended ear hearing aids are similar to RITE and CIC as demonstrated from the Matrix speech reception threshold. The result was confirmed using the APHAB questionnaire. Extended wear devices are better than daily hearing aids concerning the "personal image".

Comprensión de emociones en alumnado con implante coclear de 3 a 6 años. Factores influyentes

BackgroundLaugen et al. (2017) suggest that children with a cochlear implant (CI) show similar abilities to their hearing peers in comprehension of emotions, but some studies point out the opposite (Wiefferink et al., 2013). In this group, there is little research with conclusive evidence regarding the subject, as well as chronological age, age of implantation, hearing experience, type of hearing aid and presence of siblings. The aims of the study are: a) to describe the comprehension of emotions in preschool children with CI compared to that described in the literature in their age peers with typical development and b) to study how the factors: chronological age, implantation age, hearing experience, type of hearing aid and presence of siblings are related to the comprehension of emotions in preschoolers with CI. MethodologyCross-sectional study. Participants: 18 preschool children with CI (11 girls and 7 boys), between 3 and 6 years of chronological age, without associated pathologies and with at least 6 months of hearing age. Comprehension of emotions was assessed using the Pons & Harris (2000) Emotional Comprehension Test (TEC). ResultsAmong the findings we found the existence of a significant correlation between chronological age with the recognition of emotional expressions and comprehension of mixed emotions. The most relevant finding being the influence of the presence of siblings for understanding the role of beliefs in emotions. ConclusionsChildren with CI follow their evolutionary progress according to chronological age and it seems to us of great interest to delve into the effect of phratries and family interactions on the development of emotional competencies with specific studies designed to study this type of relationship, ideally with broader sample. The results suggest implications for family orientation and lines of research such as exploring the effect of the family environment.

Hearing aid delay in open-fit devices – coloration-pitch discrimination in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired

Objective The delay in digital hearing aids is known to cause distortions due to the mixing of the delayed hearing aid sound with the undelayed direct sound. The most apparent delay-based distortion is a pitch sensation referred to as coloration-pitch. This study investigated coloration-pitch discrimination at the lower end of typical hearing aid delays and aimed at establishing thresholds where a large change in coloration-pitch is just perceptible. Design Simulations were verified against a reference hearing aid for numerous conditions of delay, insertion gain and incident direction. The simulations were used in a psycho-acoustics experiment in which coloration-pitch discrimination thresholds were measured as a function of hearing aid delay and gain. Participants discriminated between coloration-pitches produced by delay changes of 12%. Insertion gains compensating for mild to moderate hearing losses were used. Study Sample Nine normal-hearing and twelve hearing-impaired participants with mild to moderate hearing loss participated. Results The simulations accurately reflected the acoustics of the open-fit hearing aid. Discrimination thresholds were between 0.3 ms and 1 ms depending on insertion gain and hearing status. Conclusions High sensitivity for changes in coloration-pitch was found for delays >1 ms. For shorter delays participants were increasingly insensitive to changes in coloration-pitch.

Development of speech intelligibility in geriatric individuals with hearing loss.

In our study, we aimed to evaluate the hearing aid benefit and speech intelligibility with hearing aids using objective and subjective measurements, according to the type of hearing loss in elderly individuals who used different types of hearing aids. The objective and subjective findings from a total of 47 elderly individuals between the ages of 60 and 84, who used regular hearing aids for at least six months, and who were diagnosed with different types and degrees of hearing loss were evaluated by scanning them retrospectively. : In our study, the Adaptive Turkish matrix sentence test (ATMST) was carried out with binaural headphones, and a statistically significant difference was observed between the ATMST scores of individuals with symmetrical hearing loss. A significant difference was found between the ATMST score averages for individuals with symmetrical hearing loss (S0 N90 and S0 N270) and asymmetric hearing loss (S0 N0 and S0 N270) in the free area. A significant difference was found between abbreviated profile of hearing aid benefit satisfaction questionnaires before and after hearing aid use in all groups. The Turkish matrix sentence test (TMST) in noise can be used routinely in clinics in order to evaluate the possible hearing loss from the daily environment and the hearing aid effectiveness.

A new CochlearTM Osia OSI200 Implantin Spain a case report

<b>Introduction:</b> Hearing rehabilitation after bilateral conductive deafness for middle ear atresia has different options. Osia OSI200 implant is a new type of implantable bone conduction hearing aid with a new technology that offers both acoustic and aesthetic advantages. </br></br> <b>Case report:</b> In this paper, we report the first case of a Cochlear OsiaOSI200 implanted in Spain in a 44-year-old patient. He was affected by a bilateral conductive hearing loss due to a congenital bilateral ear malformation. Ear canal atresia and pinna malformation were noted on the left side as well as ossicular chain malformation on the right side. The surgical technique is described and the results are satisfying.