Hearing From You: Design Thinking in Audiological Research.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe the emerging use of design thinking methodologies in hearing health care research using a participatory action approach with a consumer and community involvement panel, audiologists, and adults with hearing loss.

Method: Two connected hearing health care projects that adopted design thinking principles are presented here as case studies. Case 1 investigated the applicability and acceptability of smart voice assistant technology as post-hearing aid fitting support.

Discovering the Unmet Needs of People With Difficulties Understanding Speech in Noise and a Normal or Near-Normal Audiogram.

Purpose A proportion of people with a normal audiogram or mild hearing loss (NA-MHL) experience greater-than-expected difficulty hearing speech in noise. This preliminary exploratory study employed a design thinking approach to better understand the clinical pathway and treatment options experienced by this population. Method Exploratory survey data were analyzed from 233 people with NA-MHL who had consulted a clinician and 47 clinicians.

Adults who report difficulty hearing speech in noise: an exploration of experiences, impacts and coping strategies.

Listening difficulties in noise are common, even in those with clinically normal hearing. There is a suggestion that subjective assessment of hearing difficulties may be more closely associated with listening effort and fatigue rather than objective measures of hearing and/or speech perception. The aim of this study was to better understand these perceptual deficits and experiences of this population.