Perceived Sound Quality Dimensions Influencing Frequency-Gain Shaping Preferences for Hearing Aid-Amplified Speech and Music.
Jonathan M Vaisberg, Steve Beaulac, Danielle Glista and 2 others
PMID 33563136WHAT IT FOUND
Listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing loss preferred more low-frequency and less high-frequency gain than standard prescriptions, especially for pop music.
These adjustments improved perceived sound quality. However, preferences varied widely between individuals, and the study used sealed earphones, so results may not apply to open-fit hearing aids.
Key findings
01Listeners significantly increased low-frequency gain and decreased high-frequency gain compared to prescribed settings, with the largest adjustments for pop music.
02Preferred settings improved overall impression, loudness, and fullness ratings only for pop music, while speech preferences were driven by intelligibility and loudness concerns.
03Individual variability was high; while the group average preferred more low-frequency gain, 12% of listeners preferred less, and adjustments varied widely across the 25th and 75th percentiles.
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 fully occluding earphones, so results may not generalize to open-fit hearing aids commonly used for mild-to-moderate losses. Music stimuli were short, studio-compressed samples at a fixed level, which does not reflect live music or complex listening environments. Speech was tested only in quiet, so preferences may differ in noise. Individual variability was high, with some listeners preferring opposite gain adjustments to the group mean.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Ontario Research Fund.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the group-level preference for increased low-frequency gain applies to all patients or hearing aid fittings. A significant minority of listeners preferred less low-frequency gain, and the study used sealed earphones, which can create an occlusion effect not present in open-fit devices.