This document describes a clinical validation study for a double-blind repeated-measures comparative study of the Great Nordic (GN) self-fitting method to a validated audiology-best-practices method when fitting the GN Self-fitting Hearing Aid, a device intended for persons aged 18-75 years old who have mild-to-moderate hearing loss. A crossover wear-time field trial will be conducted. The focus of the study is on the validity of the self-fitting process used to select appropriate frequency-gain characteristics for the GN Self-fitting Hearing Aid, and the safety and effectiveness of the device.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
40
Earbud style hearing aids fit to both ears
Sertoma Speech and Hearing Center
Palos Hills, Illinois, United States
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Aided Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB)
The APHAB is a 24-item self-assessment of the amount of trouble the respondent has with communication in everyday situations. Sample question: "When I'm at the dinner table with several people, and I am trying to have a conversation with one person, understanding speech is difficult." For each of the 24 items, person asked to select one of the following percentages to indicate how frequently this occurs: Always (99%); Almost Always (87%); Generally (75%); Half-the-time (50%); Occasionally (25%); Seldom (12%); or Never (1%). Mean scale scores are expressed as a percentage or proportion representing the average frequency of difficulty experienced. An APHAB global score based on the 18 items from the three speech-communication subscales was used in the statistical analyses. APHAB scores were obtained unaided (Visit 1) and following use of the hearing aids for 10-14 days for each fit (Visits 2 \& 3; aided). The primary outcome is the mean difference in aided scores, Self-Fit minus Pro-Fit.
Time frame: 10-14 days
Quick Speech in Noise Test (QuickSIN)
The QuickSIN test consists of lists of six sentences played from a loudspeaker at a constant level approximating typical conversation. The level of the co-located four-talker babble (background noise) increased across the six sentences for signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) ranging from +25 to 0 decibels (dB) SNR (in steps of 5 dB). The participant was asked to repeat each sentence. The examiner scored predetermined key words in each sentence. The resulting score was interpreted as an SNR loss in dB where a value near 0 dB indicates normal hearing and larger values indicate more difficulty listening in noise. The QuickSIN SNR values for the Pro-Fit condition were subtracted from those for the Self-Fit condition to generate a difference value in dB between the two fitting methods. The secondary outcome measure evaluated here was the mean difference in QuickSIN SNR values in dB between Pro-Fit and Self-Fit for all 37 participants; 19 Pro-Fit first and 18 Self-Fit first.
Time frame: Measurement after 10-14-day wear time for each fit.
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