The use of ecological momentary assessment to evaluate real-world aided outcomes with children

Abstract

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods allow for real-time, real-world survey data collection. Studies with adults have reported EMA as a feasible and valid tool in the measurement of real-world listening experience. Research is needed to investigate the use of EMA with children who wear hearing aids. Objectives: This study explored the implementation of EMA with children using a single-blinded repeated measures design to evaluate real-world aided outcome. Methods: Twenty-nine children, aged 7-17, used manual program switching to access hearing aid programs, fitted according to Desired Sensation Level (DSL) version 5.0 child quiet and noise prescriptive targets. Aided outcome was measured using participant-triggered twice-daily EMA entries, across listening situations and hearing dimensions. Results: Adherence to the EMA protocol by the children was high (82.4% compliance rate). Speech loudness, understanding and preference results were found to relate to both the hearing aid program and the listening situation. Aided outcomes related to prescription-based noise management were found to be highest in noisy situations. Conclusions: Mobile device-based EMA methods can be used to inform daily life listening experience with children. Prescription-based noise management was found to decrease perceived loudness in noisy, non-school environments; this should be evaluated in combination with hearing aid noise reductions features.

Phase 2 of collaborative action around the implementation of virtual hearing aid care: Evaluation of a clinical practice guideline

“…Future research will guide evidence‐informed practice around the use of mHealth as part of a collaborative care processes in audiology. For example, the growing evidence base around the use of real‐world measures of hearing aid performance, such as ecological momentary assessment, suggests the need for clinical guidance around such topics to help bridge emerging research‐practice gaps 28,29 …”

“…For example, the growing evidence base around the use of real-world measures of hearing aid performance, such as ecological momentary assessment, suggests the need for clinical guidance around such topics to help bridge emerging research-practice gaps. 28,29 At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many providers were faced with the need to integrate immediate changes in their practice routines and workflow, including how hearing aid services were delivered. This need to offer alternative service delivery models, was often met with minimal guidance and left many providers and clients feeling overwhelmed with increased workloads and 'Zoom fatigue' experiences.…”

The Modern Hearing Care Landscape: Toward the Provision of Personalized, Dynamic, and Adaptive Care

“…For example, hearing aid logging (also known as data logging) has been reported in the literature as a way of informing hearing aid usage patterns for counseling, fine-tuning, and troubleshooting purposes and is starting to emerge as a way of informing hearing care needs. 34 35 36…”

“…37 38 Studies aimed at quantifying real-world aided benefit via EMA now include both adult and child participants, demonstrating that it is feasible to obtain real-world information for a wide age range of aided listeners and as part of daily-life research. 34 39 40 These methods have also been noted to have a fundamental advantage over the psychometric factors that negatively impact post-event recall that clinic-based care is traditionally founded on. 41 As the field of audiology starts to embrace new and exciting interactive technologies, we start to see a shift to person-centered audiological care.…”

Critical hearing experiences manifest differently across individuals: insights from hearing aid data captured in real-life moments

“…Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a questionnaire method that can facilitate collection of HA data during moments of good and difficult hearing experiences. EMA involves repeated assessments of a person's everyday experiences and has been used widely in audiology research to understand auditory dynamics, demands and HA outcomes (Holube, von Gablenz, and Bitzer 2020;Glista et al 2020). The main advantages of the EMA method are that it overcomes the challenges with memory bias associated with retrospective reporting and provides context sensitive information based on real-life events.…”