GPS predicts stability of listening environment characteristics in one location over time among older hearing aid users.
Erik J Jorgensen, Elizabeth Stangl, Octav Chipara and 3 others
PMID 33074752WHAT IT FOUND
Listening environments are more stable at a specific GPS-tagged location than in general, but still fluctuate significantly.
Reverberation and noise levels remained consistent about three-quarters of the time, while talker location and visual cues varied so much that fixed hearing aid settings would only be appropriate about half the time.
Key findings
01GPS-tagged locations showed higher stability for listening characteristics than the participants' environments overall, but reverberation, signal type, and noisiness were still only consistent approximately three-quarters of the time.
02Characteristics like talker location, noise location, visual cues, and listening activity were less stable, meaning hearing aid settings based on these factors would only be appropriate in that location about half of the time.
03Seventy percent of surveys were completed in participants' homes, which likely contributed to the high stability observed for reverberation and noisiness.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study relied on self-report, and it is unclear how listeners judge and remember fluctuating characteristics within a 5-minute window. Seventy percent of data came from participants' homes, a relatively controlled environment, which likely resulted in higher stability indices than would be seen in more diverse or public settings. Reverberation was not measured acoustically but was estimated based on room size and carpeting, which is an imprecise proxy for actual acoustic conditions. The study only examined active listening situations, ignoring passive listening contexts where hearing aid preferences might also vary. The participant group consisted of older adults, who may have quieter and more stable listening environments than younger hearing aid users.
Declared interests
The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the Department of Education (HHS). The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that GPS-tagged hearing aid settings will consistently optimize patient experience in a familiar location. While stability is higher at a specific location than in general, dynamic factors like talker location and visual cues vary so much that fixed settings based on them will only be appropriate about half of the time.