Objective: Voice-aligned compression (VAC) is a method used in Oticon's hearing aids to provide more comfortable hearing without sacrificing speech discrimination. The complex, non-linear compression curve for the VAC strategy is designed based on the frequency profile of certain spoken Western languages. We hypothesized that hearing aids could be further customized for Japanese-speaking users by modifying the compression curve using the frequency profile of spoken Japanese.
Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled crossover study was performed to determine whether or not Oticon's modified amplification strategy (VAC-J) provides subjectively preferable hearing aids for Japanese-speaking hearing aid users compared to the same company's original amplification strategy (VAC). The participants were randomized to two groups. The VAC-first group received a pair of hearing aids programmed using the VAC strategy and wore them for three weeks, and then received a pair of hearing aids programmed using VAC-J strategy and wore them for three weeks. The VAC-J-first group underwent the same study, but they received hearing aids in the reverse sequence. A Speech, Spatial and Qualities (SSQ) questionnaire was administered before beginning to use the hearing aids, at the end of using the first pair of hearing aids, and at the end of using the second pair of hearing aids.
Results: Twenty-five participants that met the inclusion/exclusion criteria from January 1 to October 31, 2016, were randomized to two groups. Twenty-two participants completed the study. There were no statistically significant differences in the increment of SSQ scores between the participants when using the VAC- or the VAC-J-programmed hearing aids. However, participants preferred the VAC-J strategy to the VAC strategy at the end of the study, and this difference was statistically significant.
Conclusion: Japanese-speaking hearing aid users preferred using hearing aids that were fitted with the VAC-J strategy. Our results show that the VAC strategy can be adjusted to the frequency profile of different languages and that participants expressed their subjective preference more clearly than was reflected in the SSQ scores. A similar language-specific strategy may improve user's satisfaction while using hearing devices, and this concept may be extended to implantable hearing devices.
Clinical Research Registration Number: R000023191.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anl.2017.11.007 | DOI Listing |
Q J Exp Psychol (Hove)
January 2025
Hearing Aid Laboratory, Northwestern University, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Evanston, IL, USA.
Listeners often find themselves in scenarios where speech is disrupted, misperceived, or otherwise difficult to recognize. In these situations, many individuals report exerting additional effort to understand speech, even when repairing speech may be difficult or impossible. This investigation aimed to characterize cognitive effort across time during both sentence listening and a post-sentence retention interval by observing the pupillary response of participants with normal to borderline normal hearing in response to two interrupted speech conditions: sentences interrupted by gaps of silence or bursts of noise.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Audiol
January 2025
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Objectives: To explore the extent to which an international sample of adults with hearing loss experience and respond to stigma-induced identity threat; and the associations between experiences of hearing loss stigma, responses to hearing loss stigma (concealment of hearing loss), and hearing aid use.
Design: Cross-sectional online survey comprising published questionnaires and multiple response questions designed to capture five of seven constructs of the Major and O'Brien model of stigma-induced identity threat. Multivariate modelling examined factors associated with hearing aid use and concealment of hearing loss.
Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng
January 2025
Bioengineering, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
The imaging of the live cochlea is a challenging task. Regardless of the quality of images obtained from modern clinical imaging techniques, the internal structures of the cochlea mainly remain obscured. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a safe, low-cost alternative medical imaging technique with applications in various clinical scenarios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAge Ageing
January 2025
Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
Background: Age-related hearing loss and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) independently increase dementia risk. The Ageing and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders randomised controlled trial (RCT) found hearing aids reduce cognitive decline in high-risk older adults with poor hearing.
Methods: This pilot RCT in London memory clinics randomised people with MCI (aged ≥55, untreated hearing loss defined as Pure Tone Average 0.
Laryngoscope
January 2025
Department of Otolaryngology, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.
Objectives: To investigate hearing aid utilization rates among populations with varying hearing aid insurance benefits.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed. A total of 377 patients were included in the study after being identified through consecutive, hearing loss-related otology clinic visits.
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