Investigating Differences in Preferred Noise Reduction Strength Among Hearing Aid Users.
Tobias Neher, Kirsten C Wagener
PMID 27604781WHAT IT FOUND
Tests of noise tolerance, distortion detection, questionnaire responses about sound preferences, and reading span did not predict hearing aid users' preferred noise reduction strength, though preference was stable over time and stronger when noise was less severe.
Key findings
01Common noise acceptance, distortion detection, sound personality, and reading span measures did not predict preferred noise reduction strength.
02Preferred noise reduction strength was stable across time and increased when the background noise was less severe.
03Strong noise reduction lowered average speech recognition compared with inactive and moderate noise reduction.
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 extreme groups selected from earlier preference data, so the findings may not represent all hearing aid users. Several participants previously classified as noise reduction haters chose settings within the lover range, so group labels were not always stable. The sample was small, and expected hearing loss differences did not reach significance. Testing was done in a soundproof booth with a simulated hearing aid, not in everyday listening. A participant was excluded from noise acceptance analysis, and some distortion threshold estimates were discarded or excluded.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that noise tolerance, distortion detection, questionnaire responses about sound preferences, or reading span can be used to choose noise reduction settings; these measures did not predict preferred strength in this study.