Use of a Mild-Gain Hearing Aid by Middle-Age Normal-Hearing Adults Who Do and Do Not Self-Report Trouble Hearing in Background Noise

Abstract

Purpose The aim of the study was to assess how the use of a mild-gain hearing aid can affect hearing handicap, motivation, and attitudes toward hearing aids for middle-age, normal-hearing adults who do and do not self-report trouble hearing in background noise. Method A total of 20 participants (45–60 years of age) with clinically normal-hearing thresholds (< 25 dB HL) were enrolled in this study. Ten self-reported difficulty hearing in background noise, and 10 did not self-report difficulty hearing in background noise. All participants were fit with mild-gain hearing aids, bilaterally, and were asked to wear them for 2 weeks. Hearing handicap, attitudes toward hearing aids and hearing loss, and motivation to address hearing problems were evaluated before and after participants wore the hearing aids. Participants were also asked if they would consider purchasing a hearing aid before and after 2 weeks of hearing aid use. Results After wearing the hearing aids for 2 weeks, hearing handicap scores decreased for the participants who self-reported difficulty hearing in background noise. No changes in hearing handicap scores were observed for the participants who did not self-report trouble hearing in background noise. The participants who self-reported difficulty hearing in background noise also reported greater personal distress from their hearing problems, were more motivated to address their hearing problems, and had higher levels of hearing handicap compared to the participants who did not self-report trouble hearing in background noise. Only 20% (2/10) of the participants who self-reported trouble hearing in background noise reported that they would consider purchasing a hearing aid after 2 weeks of hearing aid use. Conclusions The use of mild-gain hearing aids has the potential to reduce hearing handicap for normal-hearing, middle-age adults who self-report difficulty hearing in background noise. However, this may not be the most appropriate treatment option for their current hearing problems given that only 20% of these participants would consider purchasing a hearing aid after wearing hearing aids for 2 weeks.

An Approach to Self-Assessed Auditory Wellness in Older Adults

“…Of course, the intervention recommended does not have to be a conventional or OTC hearing aid. Perhaps those with auditory wellness ratings of “good” or “fair,” for example, could benefit from an efficacious group communication-training program (e.g., Hickson et al 2007 ) or selective use of assistive listening devices or hearables targeting improvement in the speech-to-noise ratio without providing much gain (e.g., Maidment et al 2018 ; Mealings et al 2020 ; Singh & Doherty 2020 ). Further research is needed to map auditory wellness ratings to recommended interventions and then to evaluate the outcomes.…”

“…Individual studies and several literature reviews have repeatedly identified perceived hearing difficulties as the key factor for hearing aid uptake and use (e.g., Knudsen et al 2010 ; Laplante-Levesque et al 2012 ; Hickson et al 2014; Pronk et al 2017 ; Ratanjee-Vanmali et al 2019 ; Sawyer et al 2019 ; Simpson et al 2019 ). Many older adults with slight amounts of pure-tone hearing loss, well within the WHO-new HI range of “normal” hearing, seek hearing aids and obtain positive outcomes ( Roup et al 2018 ; Humes 2020a ; Singh & Doherty 2020 ). These individuals are already well motivated as they have perceived hearing needs that compromise their auditory wellness.…”

A Scoping Review and Field Guide of Theoretical Approaches and Recommendations to Studying the Decision to Adopt Hearing Aids

“…Most studies included in this review (n = 22) were published between 2011 and 2020 and one study each was conducted in 2010, in 2005, and in 1996. Eight of the 24 studies were conducted in Australia (Laplante-Levesque et al 2010, 2011, 2012; Meyer et al 2014; Ridgway et al 2015, 2016, 2017; Ekberg et al 2016), seven were conducted in North America (Carson 2005; Saunders et al 2013, 2016; Hodgetts et al 2017; Singh & Launer 2018; Amlani 2020; Singh & Doherty 2020), six were conducted in Europe (van den Brink et al 1996; Cobelli et al 2014; Meister et al 2014; Barker et al 2016; Rolfe & Gardner 2016; Sawyer et al 2019), two were conducted in New Zealand (Luey & Wise 2017; Reddy et al 2019), and one was conducted in South Africa (Ratanjee-Vanmali et al 2020).…”

The hunt for hidden hearing loss in humans: From preclinical studies to effective interventions

“…Koerner et al (2020), for example, reported that, in addition to counseling patients with tactics that improve communication in noisy venues, around 23% of surveyed audiologists (n = 157) used mild-gain hearing aids as their preferred rehabilitation strategy, even though littleto-no research has been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of these technologies in adults with hearing difficulties but normal audiograms. In fact, to date, only two studies have investigated the use of a mild-gain hearing aid for this population (Roup et al, 2018;Singh and Doherty, 2020). These studies showed that while mild-gain hearing aids helped people with HHL reduce their hearing-in-noise handicap to some extent, only 3 out 17 participants in Roup et al (2018), and10.3389/fnins.2022.1000304 2 from 10 participants in Singh and Doherty (2020), reported being willing to continue using the devices in noisy listening situations.…”

“…In fact, to date, only two studies have investigated the use of a mild-gain hearing aid for this population (Roup et al, 2018;Singh and Doherty, 2020). These studies showed that while mild-gain hearing aids helped people with HHL reduce their hearing-in-noise handicap to some extent, only 3 out 17 participants in Roup et al (2018), and10.3389/fnins.2022.1000304 2 from 10 participants in Singh and Doherty (2020), reported being willing to continue using the devices in noisy listening situations. These studies suggest that whilst mild-gain hearing aids might potentially reduce the hearing-in-noise handicap of individuals with normal hearing, these technologies remain suboptimal for most of them.…”