Examination of two issues concerning functional gain measurements.
The test-retest variability of aided sound-field thresholds and the feasibility of using corrected 2-cm3 coupler gain values to predict individual functional gain were examined. Test-retest data were used to generate critical differences (in dB) for statistical significance between two aided sound-field thresholds. To be significantly different at the .05 level, two aided thresholds would have to differ by greater than 15 dB. Functional gain and 2-cm3 coupler gain were compared for 20 subjects using careful measurement procedures. Individual variability in the difference between functional gain and 2-cm3 coupler gain was reduced substantially from previous studies and indicates that corrected coupler gain measurements may have some clinical utility.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000592:standards*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged