Focusing on Positive Listening Experiences Improves Speech Intelligibility in Experienced Hearing Aid Users.
Dina Lelic, Line Louise Aaberg Nielsen, Anja Kofoed Pedersen and 1 others
PMID 38656770WHAT IT FOUND
Experienced hearing aid users who texted a daily summary of positive listening experiences for two weeks improved their speech-in-noise scores significantly more than controls.
The intervention asks users to actively notice and report good sounds, shifting focus away from difficulties.
Key findings
01Participants in the Positive Focus group showed a significant improvement in speech-in-noise performance (HINT and DAT tests) compared to the control group, which showed no significant change.
02The Positive Focus group scored significantly better on the SSQ12 Qualities domain with study hearing aids compared to their own, while the control group did not show this improvement.
03At exit interviews, Positive Focus participants named more good listening experiences than controls and were more likely to report becoming aware of problematic or good situations.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (30 participants). The study was single-blind; participants knew they were in a hearing aid study, though they did not know the specific hypothesis or their group assignment. The authors could not double-blind the intervention because the nature of the task (reporting positive experiences) would reveal the group assignment to the participants. The study only included experienced hearing aid users; it is unknown if this works for first-time users. The effect is short-term (two weeks); long-term persistence was not measured.
Declared interests
Two authors are employees of WS Audiology, the manufacturer of the hearing aids used. One author is now employed by GN Group. The study was conducted at WS Audiology facilities. The authors state they received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this intervention works for all hearing aid users or long-term. The study only tested experienced users over two weeks, and the participants were not fully blinded to the nature of the task, which could influence self-reporting and engagement.