Auditory Profile-Based Hearing Aid Fitting: Self-Reported Benefit for First-Time Hearing Aid Users.

Although hearing aids (HAs) can compensate for reduced audibility, functional outcomes and benefits vary widely across individuals. As part of the Danish 'Better hEAring Rehabilitation' (BEAR) project, four distinct auditory profiles differing in terms of audiometric thresholds and supra-threshold hearing abilities were recently identified. Additionally, profile-specific HA-fitting strategies were proposed.

Difference in SII provided by initial fit and NAL-NL2 and its relation to self-reported hearing aid outcomes.

Objective: The speech intelligibility index (SII) is used to quantify the audibility of the speech. This study examined the relationship between self-reported hearing aid (HA) outcomes and the difference in aided SII (SII) calculated from the initial fit (IF) gain and that prescribed as per the second generation of National Acoustic Laboratory Non-Linear (NAL-NL2).

Design: A prospective observational study.

Usability of the inductive tongue computer interface: Internet use, speaking, and drinking - evaluated by two users with disabilities.

Tongue computer interfaces have shown promising for both computer control and for control of assistive technologies and robotics. Still, evidence is lacking in relation to their usability resulting in speculations on their effectiveness for general computer use and their impact on other activities such as speaking, drinking, and eating. This paper presents the results of such a usability study performed with two individuals with tetraplegia.

A history of occupational noise exposure is associated with steep-slope audiograms and poorer self-reported hearing-aid outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the effects of previous occupational noise exposure in older adults with hearing loss on (1) audiometric configuration and acoustic reflex (AR) thresholds and (2) self-reported hearing abilities and hearing aid (HA) effectiveness.

Design: A prospective observational study.

Study Sample: The study included 1176 adults (≥60 years) with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

Adapting to New Hearing Aids and Hearing Aid Adjustments in Adult Danish Users.

Purpose: This study was aimed at understanding the effect of time taken to adapt to the new hearing aids (HAs) and the timeline of HA adjustments performed over more than a year of rehabilitation on self-reported HA outcomes.

Method: A self-report of the time it took to get accustomed to the new HAs and adjustment of the HAs during a year of rehabilitation collected from 690 HA users using a nonstandardized questionnaire were analyzed. The abbreviated version of the Speech, Spatial, and Quality of Hearing questionnaire and the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids were used as the self-reported HA outcome.