The prevalence of harmful sound habits due to the use of personal stereo devices is high in the adolescent population, but there was no correlation between exposure to high sound pressure levels through personal stereos and the high-frequency thresholds in this population.
Introduction Elderly individuals with bilateral hearing loss often do not use hearing aids in both ears. Because of this, dichotic tests to assess hearing in this group may help identify peculiar degenerative processes of aging and hearing aid selection.
Objective To evaluate dichotic hearing for a group of elderly hearing aid users who did not adapt to using binaural devices and to verify the correlation between ear dominance and the side chosen to use the device.
Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study involving 30 subjects from 60 to 81 years old, of both genders, with an indication for bilateral hearing aids for over 6 months, but using only a single device. Medical history, pure tone audiometry, and dichotic listening tests were all completed.
Results All subjects (100%) of the sample failed the dichotic digit test; 94% of the sample preferred to use the device in one ear because bilateral use bothered them and affected speech understanding. In 6%, the concern was aesthetics. In the dichotic digit test, there was significant predominance of the right ear over the left, and there was a significant correlation between the dominant side with the ear chosen by the participant for use of the hearing aid.
Conclusion In elderly subjects with bilateral hearing loss who have chosen to use only one hearing aid, there is dominance of the right ear over the left in dichotic listening tasks. There is a correlation between the dominant ear and the ear chosen for hearing aid fitting.
Introduction Optimization of the selection, adaptation, and benefit of hearing aids is necessary to characterize and manage hearing loss, user expectations, otolaryngologic symptoms, and systemic comorbidities.
Objective To compare the occurrence of otologic complaints, systemic diseases, and effective use of hearing aids in men and women with deafness.
Methods Patients from a Unified Health System–accredited hearing health service, who reported problems in adapting to their hearing aids, were evaluated by a physician and audiologist. An anamnesis, ENT evaluation, and audiological evaluation were performed.
Results During the data collection period, 278 subjects came in for follow-up visits; of these, 61 (21%) reported otologic or operational problems with their equipment. The most prevalent type of hearing loss was basocochlear, a characteristic of presbycusis, in both men and women; the most frequently reported comorbidities were hypercholesterolemia (more significant in women) and hypertension (more significant in men). Fourteen subjects reported using their device discontinuously, with no significant difference between genders; the reasons for discontinuation of use were itching and ringing, with more complaints from women.
Conclusion The incidence of systemic and audiological complaints is high in this population. These patients should be evaluated thoroughly, as resolutions of these complaints can contribute to improving the quality of life and assist in the process of hearing aid fitting.
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