Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31408045›Full record

ArticleEar and hearing

Quantifying the Range of Signal Modification in Clinically Fit Hearing Aids.

Varsha Rallapalli, Melinda Anderson, James Kates, Lauren Balmert, Lynn Sirow, Kathryn Arehart, Pamela Souza

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ear and hearing. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Open Speech Platform: Democratizing Hearing Aid Research.International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare : [proceedings]. International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare · 2020
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Varsha RallapalliDepartment of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
Melinda AndersonDepartment of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
James KatesDepartment of Speech Language Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Lauren BalmertBiostatistics Collaboration Center, Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Lynn SirowI Love Hearing Inc., Port Washington, New York, USA.
Kathryn ArehartDepartment of Speech Language Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Pamela SouzaDepartment of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
Northwestern University · USUniversity of Colorado Boulder · USKnowles (United States) · USUniversity of Colorado Denver · US

Funding

Characterizing Variability in Hearing Aid Outcomes Among Older AdultsR01DC012289 · NIDCD · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · PI SOUZA, PAMELA E. · 2012 to 2021
$3.7M
NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC012289
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesHearing aids provide various signal processing techniques with a range of parameters to improve the listening experience for a hearing-impaired individual. In previous studies, we reported significant differences in signal modification for mild versus strong signal processing in commercially available hearing aids. In this study, the authors extend this work to clinically prescribed hearing aid fittings based on best-practice guidelines. The goals of this project are to determine the range of cumulative signal modification in clinically fit hearing aids across manufacturers and technology levels and the effects of listening conditions including signal to noise ratio (SNR) and presentation level on these signal modifications.

designWe identified a subset of hearing aids that were representative of a typical clinical setting. Deidentified hearing aid fitting data were obtained from three audiology clinics for adult hearing aid users with sensorineural hearing loss for a range of hearing sensitivities. Matching laboratory hearing aids were programmed with the deidentified fitting data. Output from these hearing aids was recorded at four SNRs and three presentation levels. The resulting signal modification was quantified using the cepstral correlation component of the Hearing Aid Speech Quality Index which measures the speech envelope changes in the context of a model of the listener's hearing loss. These metric values represent the hearing aid processed signal as it is heard by the hearing aid user. Audiometric information was used to determine the nature of any possible association with the distribution of signal modification in these clinically fit hearing aids.

resultsIn general, signal modification increased as SNR decreased and presentation level increased. Differences across manufacturers were significant such that the effect of presentation level varied differently at each SNR, for each manufacturer. This result suggests that there may be variations across manufacturers in processing various listening conditions. There was no significant effect of technology level. There was a small effect of pure-tone average on signal modification for one manufacturer, but no effect of audiogram slope. Finally, there was a broad range of measured signal modification for a given hearing loss, for the same manufacturer and listening condition.

conclusionsThe signal modification values in this study are representative of commonly fit hearing aids in clinics today. The results of this study provide insights into how the range of signal modifications obtained in real clinical fittings compares with a previous study. Future studies will focus on the behavioral implications of signal modifications in clinically fit hearing aids.

Indexed as

Hearing AidsHearing Loss, SensorineuralSpeech PerceptionAdultHearing TestsHumansSignal-To-Noise Ratio

Identifiers

PMID31408045
PMCPMC7007831
OpenAlexW2968816843

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.