This study compared the real-ear response provided by custom-fit hearing aids to the
closest matching fixed-format disposable hearing aids in patients with precipitous
high-frequency hearing loss. Laboratory and field measures of aided performance were
obtained to compare patient performance with the custom-fit and fixed-format hearing
aids. In addition, coupler versus real-ear response differences were compared for
the two hearing aid types. The results revealed that relatively close approximations
to the real-ear aided responses of the custom-fit instruments were possible for most
participants using seven fixed acoustic formats. No significant differences in mean
performance between the two instrument types were observed for aided speech recognition
or field ratings of aided performance, although mean patient satisfaction was lower
for the disposable hearing aids. The real-ear to coupler difference was greater for
the disposable hearing aid than for the custom-fit instruments, presumably owing to
its deeper insertion into the ear canal.
Key Words
Benefit - custom fit - disposable - hearing aids - real-ear aided response - satisfaction
- speech recognition
