Beskrivelse
Background: Individuals with audiometrically normal hearing can experience hearing difficulties and could therefore benefit from hearing aid treatment. To test this hypothesis, the current study examined self-reported hearing difficulties, before and after hearing aid intervention, in a clinical sample tested as part of the Danish ‘Better hEAring Rehabilitation’ (BEAR) project.Methods: Self-reported hearing abilities were assessed using the 12-item Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing (SSQ12) scale and compared before and after hearing aid intervention. In addition, daily hearing aid usage and International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) scores were examined. The participants were individuals seeking treatment at two large public hearing clinics. They were segregated into three groups based on their better-ear four-frequency pure-tone average (PTA4) hearing loss: (1) ‘normal hearing’ (N = 82), (2) ‘mild hearing loss’ (N = 449), and (3) ‘moderate hearing loss’ (N = 430).
Results: Pre-intervention SSQ12 scores were comparable for the three participant groups. Post-intervention scores for the different outcome measures were generally also comparable, with only a few statistically significant differences between the ‘normal hearing’ and ‘moderate hearing loss’ groups.
Conclusion: The presence of PTA4-based normal hearing should not preclude individuals from consideration for hearing aid treatment. When assessing candidacy, perceived hearing difficulties should also be considered.
| Periode | 16. maj 2025 |
|---|---|
| Begivenhedstitel | 17th Congress of the European Federation of Audiology Societies |
| Begivenhedstype | Konference |
| Placering | Vienna, ØstrigVis på kort |
| Grad af anerkendelse | International |