title: The occlusion effect created by custom canal hearing aids.
abstract: There has recently been a dramatic increase in the demand for custom canal hearing aids. One of the significant limitations sometimes created by these instruments is the increased sensitivity to bone-conducted stimuli known as the occlusion effect. A large occlusion effect is often cited as the reason for rejection of these devices. This investigation tested a method of measuring the occlusion effect through bone-conducted speech reception thresholds (SRTs). The results indicated that the bone conducted SRT procedure is sensitive enough to differentiate between the occlusion effect created by shell earmolds versus canal hearing aids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech and Theatre, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York 11439.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Dempsey
mesh_terms: D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000502:physiology; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test / Q000379:methods