Outcome measures

Question 1

Questions that need answers: treatment effectiveness, efficiency, effects…

Answer 1

We need to define…

1. Treatment effectiveness: do they improve speech understanding
2. Treatment efficiency: are some hearing aid settings better than others in improving speech understanding
3. Treatment effects: do the hearing aids improve overall quality of life

Question 2

Objective outcome measures

Answer 2

-number of tests can be performed in clinic to determine speech intelligibility in quiet and in noise;

Quick Speech in Noise Test (SIN)
Hearing In Noise Test (HINT)
Lexical Neighbourhood Test
Words in Noise

Question 3

Quick Speech in Noise Test (SIN)

Answer 3

• developed to determine an individual’s SNR loss
• individuals w HL have greater SNR loss than those w normal hearing
• show how directional microphones can improve speech understanding

In a nutshell:

• Tester plays 10 passages of speech, testee repeats back
• vol of speech remains constant at 70dB
• speech babble will also be playing at the same time and the vol will vary from a SNR of +25 to 0

Goal= to determine the individuals SNR loss

• scores calculated by how many words in the passage the testee can accurately identify
• allow you to dyer mine if directional mics decrease the SNR loss

Question 4

Hearing in Noise Test (HINT)

Answer 4

• same as QuickSin, HINT assessed an individual’s ability to understand speech in noise, as well as in quiet situations
• speech always coming from front speaker
• created for three diff subsets:
  1. California peace officers
  2. Individuals w mild HL that struggle in noisy environments
  3. Assess the benefit of diff hearing aid programs for hearing aid wearers

HING in a nutshell:

• sentence will be played (250 diff sentences), if testee more than 50% of the sentence correct, the vol of the signal decreases and vice versa
• at end, SNR threshold will be determined for each of the three conditions

Question 5

Words in Noise Test (WIN)

Answer 5

• involves repeating words, at a various vol, back in the presence of speech babble
• presented through headphones not speakers
• how well the testee does at each SNR is plotted on a graph compared to a “normal performance”

Question 6

Subjective measures

Answer 6

-questionnaires and self assessment inventories have been created by multiple groups to define hearing aid benefit

• quick and easy way to give audiologist and patients way to determine:
  1. How much their hearing impairment is impacting their life
  2. what areas in their lives they would like to see Improve with use of hearing instruments
  3. How much improvements in these areas the hearing instruments are providing
  4. Gives the hearing aid wearer an idea of where they were at before getting the hearing instruments and where they are now

Question 7

Data logging as an outcome measure

Answer 7

• a personal favourite
• sometimes ppl can lead you astray (tell you they are wearing the aids but aren’t)
• very objective way to monitor how much/long one is wearing their device
• also gives you idea of the types of environments they are in

Question 8

Outcome measures

Answer 8

-allow us to define the amount of benefit one receives from their hearing aids

-more holistic approach, than just using real ear verification (speechmap)
(determine amount of vol someone needs for a given HL)

TWO CATEGORIES:

1. Objective outcome measures
2. Subjective outcome measures

-we are attempting to visage the hearing aid fitting process