A "Goldilocks" Approach to Hearing Aid Self-Fitting: Ear-Canal Output and Speech Intelligibility Index.
Carol Mackersie, Arthur Boothroyd, Alexandra Lithgow
PMID 29894379WHAT IT FOUND
A generic starting setting for hearing aids provided adequate speech audibility for 65% of users.
Self-adjustment increased this to 88%, matching the accuracy of a customized clinical prescription. Users without prior experience achieved similar results to experienced users.
Key findings
01Self-adjustment from a generic starting point allowed 88% of participants to reach a Speech Intelligibility Index of 60% or higher, compared to 65% at the start.
02The final self-adjusted settings were not significantly different from the NAL-NL2 prescription in terms of overall audibility.
03Participants with no prior hearing aid experience achieved similar audibility outcomes to experienced users after self-adjustment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used a single male talker in quiet conditions, so results may not generalize to noisy environments or different speakers. Word recognition scores were too high to detect differences between conditions (ceiling effect). The sample size was small (26 participants), though it was powered to detect medium effects. The software constrained adjustments to three parameters, which may not reflect all features of commercial hearing aids.
Declared interests
Funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (N.I.H.). No other conflicts of interest were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that self-fitting works for all patients. This study included only those with mild to moderately severe hearing loss and sufficient cognitive function. It does not prove that a generic starting point is sufficient for severe losses or complex hearing profiles.