Purpose: This study aimed to report the development of Hearing Aid Gain for Korean Hearing Impaired version 2.0 (HAG-K v2.0), the Korean-type hearing aid fitting formula to improve the satisfaction of hearing aids and the communication ability of the Korean hearing impaired.Methods: HAG-K v2.0 was compared to NAL-NL2 with real-ear insertion gain (REIG) of the Korean hearing impaired, which was produced by considering most comfortable level and uncomfortable level, the levels and spectra of Korean conversational speech, band importance function, and preferred gain.Results: When REIG produced from HAG-K v2.0 was compared to NAL-NL2, it resulted low at HTL 40 and 80 dB HL and the compression threshold of HAG-K v2.0 was higher in all HTL compared to NAL-NL2. And the compression ratio was high at HTL 40 dB HL for NAL-NL2 and at 80 dB HL for HAG-K v2.0.Conclusion: HAG-K v2.0 developed in this study is the initial version of the Korean-type hearing aid fitting formula considering the characteristics of Korean conversational speech levels, spectra and preferred gain. With the systematic corrections and supplements for HAG-K v2.0 in the future, the Korean hearing impaired would benefit from this formula in electroacoustic control of the hearing aids.
Purpose: To calculate the real-ear insertion gain (REIG) according to the types of hearing aids, we evaluated the preferred REIGs of Korean hearing-impaired listeners and psychoacoustic differences between open-canal fitting (OF) and closed-canal fitting (CF).Methods: The subjects with sensorineural hearing loss were divided into OF group (4 monaural fittings, 15 binaural fittings with 34 ears), and CF group (8 monaural fittings, 13 binaural fittings with 34 ears). There were no statistical differences in hearing threshold level (HTL) at each octave frequencies, word recognition score (WRS) and Korean Adaptation of the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (K-IOI-HA) between the two groups. When there was no need for further electroacoustic adjustment of the hearing aid, sharpness and occlusion of amplified sound, clarity of sentence, and loudness of noise were evaluated based on the everyday experience. And REIGs with international speech test signal and WRS in sound-treated room were measured.Results: Preferred REIG for HTL was low for OF compared to CF in 0.5 kHz and 0.75 kHz at input SPL of 55 dB, 0.5 kHz at 60 dB SPL, 0.25 kHz and 0.5 kHz at 80 dB SPL. However, there were no differences in aided WRS and psychoacoustics between the two groups.Conclusion: In this study, the preferred REIG of OF and CF groups showed a difference under 0.75 kHz although there were no psychoacoustic differences between the two groups. Therefore, the results of this study should be considered when formulating Korean-type hearing aid fitting formula.
Purpose: In this study, changes before and after adjustment in high frequency bands were assessed for aided threshold, psychoacoustic evaluation, word recognition scores (WRSs) in noise and sound quality to aid in electroacoustic adjustment, and to improve the satisfaction of hearing aids.Methods: The subjects were 16 sensorineural hearing impaired (25 ears) with 63.4 years old of mean age, 60.8% WRS and 46.6 months of aided experience. For the experiment, hearing aid gain of high-frequency bands adjusted to preferred gain was increased to a higher level. Aided threshold, Korean version of international outcome inventory for hearing aids (K-IOI-HA), Korean version of profile of hearing aid benefit-quick version (K-PHAB-Q), WRSs in noise for 10 dB and 5 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sound quality were subsequently evaluated after two weeks and the results were quantitatively compared before and after gain adjustment in high-frequency bands.Results: This study results in as follows; first, improvement in aided threshold for frequencies above 2.0 kHz was shown. Second, K-IOI-HA and K-PHAB-Q in easy communication and localization categories resulted in significant enhancements. Third, WRS in 5 dB and 10 dB SNR was improved. Fourth, improvements were shown for occlusion and clarity of the sentence in the evaluation of sound quality, but significant results were not shown for sharpness and loudness of noise conditions.Conclusion: With sensorineural hearing loss, a sufficient gain in high frequency bands provides improved satisfaction to hearing aids and enhanced word recognition ability in various listening environments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.