Following previous research suggesting hearing-aid experience may induce functional plasticity at the peripheral level of the auditory system, click-evoked auditory brainstem response was recorded at first fitting and 12 weeks after hearing-aid use by unilateral and bilateral hearing-aid users. A control group of experienced hearing-aid users was tested over a similar time scale. No significant...

Although multimemory hearing aids have theoretical advantages over conventional "single memory" hearing aids, research and clinical data are not available to support their efficacy. The present study reports on the usefulness of a commercially available multimemory hearing aid in daily listening situations. Nineteen elderly hearing-aid wearers were fitted with the Quattro Q8 hearing aid. A modi...

BACKGROUND The noises in modern soundscapes continue to increase and are a major origin for annoyance. For a hearing-impaired person, a hearing aid is often beneficial, but noise and annoying sounds can result in non-use of the hearing aid, temporary or permanently. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify annoying sounds in a daily soundscape for hearing-aid users. DESIGN A diar...

The making of ear mould for hearing aids is generally considered to be a safe process. However, there are a few reported cases of complications caused during mould making. We report the case of a man with 69 years age, where the process of making the mould for a hearing aid led to the perforation of the tympanic membrane and pouring of mould material into the middle ear, necessitating surgical ...

This article investigates the different acoustic signals that hearing aid users are exposed to in their everyday environment. Binaural microphone signals from recording positions close to the microphone locations of behind-the-ear hearing aids were recorded by 20 hearing aid users during daily life. The recorded signals were acoustically analyzed with regard to narrowband short-term level distr...

UNLABELLED Hearing aid use and satisfaction can be used to analyze the effectiveness of hearing rehabilitation, an issue few explored in Brazilian users. OBJECTIVE Evaluate hearing aid use dispensed in a publicly-funded health service after one year, the interventions needed and users' satisfaction. METHOD Prospective observational cross-sectional study. Hearing aid users were invited by te...

The purpose of this research was twofold: firstly, to develop a music perception test (MPT) for hearing-aid users, and secondly, to evaluate the influence of non-linear frequency compression (NFC) on music perception with the use of the self-compiled test. This article focuses on the description of the development and validation of the MPT. To date, the main direction in frequency-lowering hear...

Twelve normal-hearing subjects rated the intelligibility of 35-s, hearing-aid-processed continuous discourse (CD) passages. Three talkers (two male, one female), four hearing aids, and two signal-to-babble (S/B) ratios were used in a completely crossed design. Research questions concerned: (1) ability of listeners to rate intelligibility, (2) sensitivity of hearing aid rankings were based on in...

This study assessed the effects of hearing aids on the perception of tinnitus using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). THI benefit scores (unaided-aided) were examined in relation to hearing aid benefit as measured with the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) inventory. The THI benefit was also related to the users' ratings of overall satisfaction with their hearing aids. Thi...