Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Relationship Of Head Circumference And Age In The Prediction Of The Real-Ear-To-Coupler Difference (Recd), Kelli M. Watts, Marlene Bagatto, Sandra Clark-Lewis, Samantha Henderson, Susan Scollie, Judith Blumsack

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

Background Pediatric hearing instrument fitting is optimally performed with individually obtained real-ear-to-coupler difference (RECD) measurements. If these measurements cannot be obtained, predicted values based on age are used. Recent evidence obtained from children aged 3-11 years suggests that head circumference (HC) may be a viable alternative or addition to age for use in RECD prediction. Purpose The purpose of the present study was to determine if HC can be used to predict RECDs in infants, children, and adults. Research Design A correlational design was used. HC and RECD values were measured in all participants. Study Sample Participants were 278 North …

Primary Care Physician Perceptions Of Hearing Loss And Amplification: A Survey, Sophie Racine

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of this survey is to determine primary care physicians’ (PCP) views regarding hearing loss and hearing amplification. A questionnaire was created, using TypeForm©. Factors interrogated in the survey included structural aspects of the health care delivery system, presence of stigma among providers regarding hearing amplification, PCPs’ knowledge of hearing loss, the utility of amplification, official recommendations on screening and amplification, costs of hearing aids and risks of untreated hearing loss, and practitioners’ viewpoints and practice behaviors surrounding hearing loss and amplification. The survey instrument is comprised of four domains: 1) demographics, 2) knowledge of hearing loss and amplification, …

Beliefs And Self-Efficacy Of Parents Of Young Children With Hearing Loss, Sophie E. Ambrose, Margo Appenzeller, Alexandra Mai, Jean L. Desjardin

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The purpose of this study was to learn more about the beliefs and self-efficacy of parents of young children with hearing loss. Seventy-two parents completed the Scale of Parental Involvement and Self-Efficacy - Revised (SPISE-R), which queries parents about their child’s hearing device use and their perceptions of their own beliefs, knowledge, confidence, and actions pertaining to supporting their child’s auditory access and spoken language development. Two beliefs were identified that related to parents’ action scores and one belief was identified that related to children’s hearing device use. Knowledge and confidence scores were significantly correlated with action scores and children’s …

Audibility, Cost-Acceptibility And Cosmetic Appearance Of Iqbuds Boost In Adults Over The Age Of 50, Madison Dacus, Vishakha Rawool

Honors Theses

Background: Hearing loss affects 48 million Americans and up to 86% of all adults with hearing loss may not wear hearing aids. Untreated hearing loss is associated with social withdrawal, depression, stress, loss of income, and dementia. Even so, people still tend not to buy or wear hearing aids for a variety of reasons. One recently suggested solution to this problem is low-cost, over the counter (OTC) hearing aids, nicknamed “hearables” This study evaluated the audibility, cost-acceptability and cosmetic appearance of one OTC, IQBuds BOOST.

Methods: Fourteen men and 12 women over 50 years with a hearing loss participated in …

Speech Understanding And Listening Effort In Noise With A New Speech Processing Algorithm, Abigail E. Compton

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of a new speech processing strategy (SpeechZone2) in a commercially available hearing aid on speech understanding in noise and self-reported listening effort. Seven adult, experienced hearing aid users (2 males, 5 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. Binaural Unitron Flex receiver in the ear style hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the manufacturer prescribed amplification for each participant. The hearing aids were programmed with two separate memories: 1) omnidirectional microphone without SpeecZone2 processing, and 2) adaptive directionality with SpeechZone2 processing. …

The Impact Of Hair Covering Hearing Aid Microphones On Directional Performance, Sara F. Wagner

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of hair covering on hearing aid directional microphone performance. Nine adult, experienced hearing aid users (3 males, 6 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. Binaural Oticon Opn 1 receiver-in-the-ear hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the recommended amplification for each participant. Speech Reception Threshold (dB SNR required for 50% speech understanding) was measured in all combinations of directional microphone (on/off) and hair covering (with/without) resulting in a total of four conditions. Results showed that directional microphones significantly improved …

Evaluation Of Hearing Aid Manufacturers' Software-Derived Fittings To Dsl V5.0 Pediatric Targets, Paula Folkeard, Marlene Bagatto, Susan Scollie

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

Background Hearing aid prescriptive methods are a commonly recommended component of evidence-based preferred practice guidelines and are often implemented in the hearing aid programming software. Previous studies evaluating hearing aid manufacturers' software-derived fittings to prescriptions have shown significant deviations from targets. However, few such studies examined the accuracy of softwarederived fittings for the Desired Sensation Level (DSL) v5.0 prescription. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of software-derived fittings to the DSL v5.0 prescription, across a range of hearing aid brands, audiograms, and test levels. Research Design This study is a prospective chart review with simulated …

An Examination Of Clinical Uptake Factors For Remote Hearing Aid Support: A Concept Mapping Study With Audiologists, Danielle Glista, Robin O’Hagan, Sheila Moodie, Susan Scollie

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

© 2020 The Authors. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of British Society of Audiology, International Society of Audiology, and Nordic Audiological Society. Objective: To develop a conceptual framework around the factors that influence audiologists in the clinical uptake of remote follow-up hearing aid support services. Design: A purposive sample of 42 audiologists, stratified according to client-focus of either paediatric or adult, were recruited from professional associations in Ontario, Canada, as members of the six-step, participatory-based concept mapping process. Analyses included multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results: Six main themes emerged from …