Hearing impairment and hearing aid use

AbstractPrevious research, mostly reliant on self-reports, has indicated that hearing aid (HA) use is related to the degree of hearing impairment (HI). No large-scale investigation of the relationship between data-logged HA use and HI has been conducted to date.This study aimed to investigate if objective measures of overall daily HA use and HA use in various listening environments are different for adults with mild HI compared to adults with moderate HI.This retrospective study used data extracted from a database of fitting appointments from an international group of HA providers. Only data from the participants’ most recent fitting appointment were included in the final dataset.A total of 8,489 bilateral HA fittings of adults over the age of 18 yr, conducted between January 2013 and June 2014, were included. Participants were subsequently allocated to HI groups, based on British Society of Audiology and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association audiometric descriptors.Fitting data from participating HA providers were regularly transferred to a central server. The data, with all personal information except age and gender removed, contained participants’ four-frequency average (at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz) as well as information on HA characteristics and usage. Following data cleaning, bivariate and post hoc statistical analyses were conducted.The total sample of adults’ average daily HA use was 8.52 hr (interquartile range [IQR] = 5.49–11.77) in the left ear and 8.51 hr (IQR = 5.49–11.72) in the right ear. With a few exceptions, there were no statistical differences between hours of HA use for participants with mild HI compared to those with moderate impairment. Across all mild and moderate HI groups, the most common overall HA usage was between 8 and 12 hr per day. Other factors such as age, gender, and HA style also showed no relationship to hours of use. HAs were used, on average, for 7 hr (IQR = 4.27–9.96) per day in quiet and 1 hr (IQR = 0.33–1.41) per day in noisy listening situations.Clinical populations with mild HI use HAs as frequently as those with a moderate HI. These findings support the recommendation of HAs for adults with milder degrees of HI.

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Effect of Monaural Hearing Aid Use on Dichotic Test Results for Individuals with High-Frequency Hearing Impairment

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders ◽

10.1044/jshd.5102.161 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 161-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rauna K. Surr ◽

Allen A. Montgomery ◽

H. Gustav Mueller

Keyword(s):

Hearing Impairment ◽

High Frequency ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Individual Variability ◽

Test Results ◽

Hearing Aid Fitting ◽

Hearing Aid Use ◽

Ear Advantage ◽

Right Ear Advantage ◽

The Right

It is well documented that the majority of individuals with normal hearing have a right ear advantage for dichotic speech material. There is evidence, however, that individuals with flat sensorineural hearing loss demonstrate a left ear advantage after they have used amplification on the left side. The present study examined whether these findings could be extended to a population with high-frequency hearing impairment. The subjects were administered dichotic consonant-vowel syllable tests prior to a monaural hearing aid fitting, and the tests were repeated after 1 month and again after 6 months of hearing aid use. The results revealed a group right ear advantage prior to the hearing aid fitting, although there was considerable individual variability. No consistent changes in the test scores were shown to be associated with monaural hearing aid use in either the right ear or the left ear.

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Effects of hearing impairment and hearing aid use on the incidence of cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults: evidence from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA)

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-021-02012-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chi-Jung Tai ◽

Tzyy-Guey Tseng ◽

Yu-Han Hsiao ◽

Tsu-Ann Kuo ◽

Ching-Ya Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Propensity Score ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Geriatric Syndromes ◽

Hearing Aid Use

Abstract Background Previous studies have reported associations between hearing impairment (HI) and cognitive impairment, but the evidence is not conclusive while considering concurrent geriatric syndromes. Especially, evidence from previous studies rarely came from Asian studies. This study aimed to evaluate the independent effects of HI and hearing aid use on the incidence of cognitive impairment while considering most geriatric confounders. Methods This population-based, propensity-score matched cohort study used cohort from Waves IV–VII (1999–2011) survey of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA). Cognitive impairment was identified based on Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) scores. The hazard ratio (HR) was calculated using the Cox proportional hazard regression adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scores, the instrumental activities of daily living scale, mobility condition and quality of life. In addition, social support and participation were also considered as confounders in the analysis. To assess the robustness of our findings, we conducted a sensitivity analysis designed to access unmeasured confounding factors by calculating E-values. Results After 1:1 propensity-score matching, we included 709 participants in both the HI and non-HI groups with a mean age of 73.4 years and 39.4% of participants were female. The mean follow-up was 8.9 ± 3.9 years. The HI group had a higher incidence of cognitive impairment than the non-HI group (74.5% vs. 69.1%, respectively), with an adjusted HR of 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.32) based on a 12-year follow up. The E-value was 1.45 for the estimate, which provided evidence for this study’s robustness. Although, a subgroup analysis showed that hearing aid use was associated with lower incidences of cognitive impairment (66.3% vs. 75.6%) when compared to non-users in the HI group, the adjusted HR of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.61–1.09) revealed no significant differences. Conclusions HI was an independent risk factor of incident cognitive impairment on top of concurrent geriatric syndromes. Early HI detection may thus be effective for preventing cognitive decline. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of hearing aid use on the prevention of cognitive decline.

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Effects of hearing impairment and hearing aid use on the incidence of cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults: evidence from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA)

10.21203/rs.3.rs-42684/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chi-Jung Tai ◽

Tzyy-Guey Tseng ◽

Yu-Han Hsiao ◽

Tsu-Ann Kuo ◽

Ching-Ya Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Propensity Score ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Geriatric Syndromes ◽

Hearing Aid Use

Abstract Background: Previous studies have reported associations between hearing impairment (HI) and cognitive impairment, but the evidence is not conclusive while considering concurrent geriatric syndromes. Especially, evidence from previous studies rarely came from Asian studies. This study aimed to evaluate the independent effects of HI and hearing aid use on the incidence of cognitive impairment while considering most geriatric confounders.Methods: This population-based, propensity-score matched cohort study used cohort from Waves IV–VII (1999–2011) survey of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA). Cognitive impairment was identified based on Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) scores. The hazard ratio (HR) was calculated using the Cox proportional hazard regression adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scores, the instrumental activities of daily living scale, mobility condition and quality of life. In addition, social support and participation were also considered as confounders in the analysis. To assess the robustness of our findings, we conducted a sensitivity analysis designed to access unmeasured confounding factors by calculating E-values.Results: After 1:1 propensity-score matching, we included 709 participants in both the HI and non-HI groups with a mean age of 73.4 years and 39.4% of participants were female. The mean follow-up was 8.9±3.9 years. The HI group had a higher incidence of cognitive impairment than the non-HI group (74.5% vs. 69.1%, respectively), with an adjusted HR of 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.32) based on a 12-year follow up. The E-value was 1.45 for the estimate, which provided evidence for this study’s robustness. Although, a subgroup analysis showed that hearing aid use was associated with lower incidences of cognitive impairment (66.3% vs. 75.6%) when compared to non-users in the HI group, the adjusted HR of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.61–1.09) revealed no significant differences.Conclusions: HI was an independent risk factor of incident cognitive impairment on top of concurrent geriatric syndromes. Early HI detection may thus be effective for preventing cognitive decline. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of hearing aid use on the prevention of cognitive decline.

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Effects of hearing impairment and hearing aid use on the incidence of cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults: evidence from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA)

10.21203/rs.3.rs-42684/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chi-Jung Tai ◽

Tzyy-Guey Tseng ◽

Yu-Han Hsiao ◽

Tsu-Ann Kuo ◽

Ching-Ya Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Propensity Score ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Geriatric Syndromes ◽

Hearing Aid Use

Abstract Background: Previous studies have reported associations between hearing impairment (HI) and cognitive impairment, but the evidence is not conclusive while considering concurrent geriatric syndromes. Especially, evidence from previous studies rarely came from Asian studies. This study aimed to evaluate the independent effects of HI and hearing aid use on the incidence of cognitive impairment while considering most geriatric confounders.Methods: This population-based, propensity-score matched cohort study used cohort from Waves IV–VII (1999–2011) survey of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA). Cognitive impairment was identified based on Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) scores. The hazard ratio (HR) was calculated using the Cox proportional hazard regression adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scores, the instrumental activities of daily living scale, mobility condition and quality of life. In addition, social support and participation were also considered as confounders in the analysis. To assess the robustness of our findings, we conducted a sensitivity analysis designed to access unmeasured confounding factors by calculating E-values.Results: After 1:1 propensity-score matching, we included 709 participants in both the HI and non-HI groups with a mean age of 73.4 years and 39.4% of participants were female. The mean follow-up was 8.9±3.9 years. The HI group had a higher incidence of cognitive impairment than the non-HI group (74.5% vs. 69.1%, respectively), with an adjusted HR of 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.32) based on a 12-year follow up. The E-value was 1.45 for the estimate, which provided evidence for this study’s robustness. Although, a subgroup analysis showed that hearing aid use was associated with lower incidences of cognitive impairment (66.3% vs. 75.6%) when compared to non-users in the HI group, the adjusted HR of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.61–1.09) revealed no significant differences.Conclusions: HI was an independent risk factor of incident cognitive impairment on top of concurrent geriatric syndromes. Early HI detection may thus be effective for preventing cognitive decline. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of hearing aid use on the prevention of cognitive decline.

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Acceptance of Noise with Monaural and Binaural Amplification

Journal of the American Academy of Audiology ◽

10.3766/jaaa.17.9.5 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 17 (09) ◽

pp. 659-666 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Melinda C. Freyaldenhoven ◽

Patrick N. Plyler ◽

James W. Thelin ◽

Samuel B. Burchfield

Keyword(s):

Hearing Impairment ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Speech Understanding ◽

Speech Understanding In Noise ◽

Hearing Aid Use ◽

Interaural Differences

The present study investigated the effects of monaural and binaural amplification on speech understanding in noise and acceptance of noise for 39 listeners with hearing impairment. Results demonstrated that speech understanding in noise improved with binaural amplification; however, acceptance of noise was not dependent on monaural or binaural amplification for most listeners. These results suggest that although two hearing aids maximize speech understanding ability in noise, most individuals' acceptance of noise, which is directly related to hearing aid use, may not be affected by the use of binaural amplification. It should be noted that monaural amplification resulted in greater acceptance of noise for some listeners, indicating that binaural amplification may negatively affect some individuals' willingness to wear hearing aids. It should also be noted that interaural differences in acceptance of noise might exist for some listeners; therefore, if only one hearing aid is fitted, monaural ANLs should be measured.

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