Evaluating performance with high-frequency emphasis amplification.
Hearing aid fitting for individuals with high-frequency impairment has been difficult because of the limited gain available at those frequencies. Special high-frequency emphasis hearing aids have been developed in an attempt to alleviate this problem. The insertion-gain responses and changes in speech-recognition performance (in quiet and in noise, aided and unaided) were measured for a commercially available high-frequency emphasis hearing aid, using two types of speech materials (nonsense syllables, monosyllabic words). The maximum obtainable gain observed for high frequencies approximated that prescribed by the NAL-R method, but was considerably lower than that prescribed by other common prescriptive methods. Furthermore, modest improvements in speech recognition were found. When evaluating individuals with high-frequency impairment, speech materials administered in noise appeared to be the most sensitive indication of improved speech recognition. Special high-frequency emphasis speech materials (CUNY NST) were no more sensitive to improvements in performance than conventional clinical word lists (NU6).
Lee
L W
LW
Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.
Humes
L E
LE
Wilde
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000669:Amplifiers, Electronic; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests; D013067:Speech Perception