Systematic Evaluation of Self-Reported Hearing Ability in Six Dimensions Before and After a Hearing Aid Trial

Audiometric profiles and patterns of benefit: a data-driven analysis of subjective hearing difficulties and handicaps

OBJECTIVE

Hearing rehabilitation attempts to compensate for auditory dysfunction, reduce hearing difficulties and minimise participation restrictions that can lead to social isolation. However, there is no systematic approach to assess the quality of the intervention at an individual level that might help to evaluate the need of further hearing rehabilitation in the hearing care clinic.

DESIGN

A data-driven analysis on subjective data reflecting hearing disabilities and handicap was chosen to explore "benefit patterns" as a result of rehabilitation in different audiometric groups. The method was based on (1) dimensionality reduction; (2) stratification; (3) archetypal analysis; (4) clustering; (5) item importance estimation.

STUDY SAMPLE

572 hearing-aid users completed questionnaires of hearing difficulties (speech, spatial and qualities hearing scale; SSQ) and hearing handicap (HHQ).

RESULTS

The data-driven approach revealed four benefit profiles that were different for each audiometric group. The groups with low degree of high-frequency hearing loss (HLHF) showed a priority for rehabilitating hearing handicaps, whereas the groups with HLHF > 50 dB HL showed a priority for improvements in speech understanding.

CONCLUSIONS

The patterns of benefit and the stratification approach might guide the clinical intervention strategy and improve the efficacy and quality of service in the hearing care clinic.

Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design

BACKGROUND

The psychological effects of hearing aids and auditory training are underinvestigated.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the short- and long-term effects of an industry-developed auditory training on tinnitus-related distress, perceived stress, and psychological epiphenomena in patients with chronic tinnitus and mild-to-moderate hearing loss.

METHOD

One-hundred-seventy-seven gender-stratified patients were randomized to an immediate [IIG] or delayed [DIG] intervention group. Following binaural hearing aid fitting, participants completed a CD-enhanced 14-days self-study program. Applying a randomized-controlled cross-over design, psychological measures were obtained at four times: pre-treatment/wait [IIG: t₁; DIG: wait], post-treatment/pre-treatment [IIG: t₂; DIG: t₁], follow-up/post-treatment [IIG: t₃; DIG: t₂], and follow-up [DIG: t₃]. Between- and within-group analyses investigated treatment-related effects and their stability at a 70-day follow-up.

RESULTS

Overall, distress symptom severity was mild. Unlike the DIG, the IIG showed significant improvements in tinnitus-related distress. Some psychological epiphenomena, notably anxiety, slightly improved in both groups. Within-group analyses demonstrated the stability of the tinnitus-distress-related effects, alongside uncontrolled improvements of perceived stress and mood-related symptoms at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

The investigated hearing therapy lastingly improves tinnitus-related distress in mildly distressed patients with chronic tinnitus and mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Beneficial psychological knock-on effects deserve further investigation.