Personal Sound Amplification Smartphone Application Feasibility

Completed

Brief Summary: Find a personal sound amplification device that can help people hear better.

Detailed Description: Personal sound amplification devices (PSADs) have recently become available to the public. PSADs serve a potentially important role in providing audibility of sounds for adults who find themselves having difficulty hearing and understanding speech in some daily living situations, but may not be candidates for traditional, high-amplification hearing aids. Despite hearing loss being a very common problem, few adults who could benefit from some level of amplification actually access the technology. Only approximately 1 in 7 adults (14%) over the age of 50 with a hearing loss using amplification. High cost is the most commonly cited reason for not wanting to try amplification, and indeed, hearing aids range from $1000 to $5000 each (i.e., per ear). PSADs range from $50-$600 each, and may provide a reasonable option for people who are not ready, or are unwilling, to wear a hearing aid. This project aims to examine the feasibility of a PSAD to provide audible and clear sound signal to adult listeners. The significance of this project is its potential to develop an option for individuals to take advantage of amplification and access sound to improve quality of life, who may not otherwise do so without this technology.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Adults with difficulty hearing in some daily listening situations	Ascending Hearing Technologies device	Patients listen to sounds with and without the personal sound amplification smartphone application

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Sentence Perception in Noise Initial Fit v Unamplified	The patient will wear the Personal Sound Amplification Device for approximately 30 minutes	The prescription gain (initial fit) Personal Sound Amplification Device sound output will show speech perception benefit over the unamplified condition. Measure is percent of words heard correctly.
Sentence Perception in Noise Fine-tuned v Unamplified	The patient will wear the Personal Sound Amplification Device for approximately 30 minutes	The fine-tuned Personal Sound Amplification Device sound output will show speech perception benefit over the unamplified condition. Measure is percent of words heard correctly.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Sentences Easy to Understand	The patient will wear the Personal Sound Amplification Device for approximately 30 minutes	The Likert Scale rating scale measures the subject's perception of how well he/she heard both with the Personal Sound Amplification Device and without the device. The patient will rate the following questions on a scale from Strongly Disagree (0), Disagree (1), Neutral (2), Agree (3), and Strongly Agree (4) for the statement 'sentences were easy to understand.' Higher values mean better outcome.
Words Clear	The patient will wear the personal sound amplification device on average for 30 minutes.	The Likert Scale rating scale measures the subject's perception of how well he/she heard both with the Personal Sound Amplification Device and without the device. The patient will rate the following questions on a scale from Strongly Disagree (0), Disagree (1), Neutral (2), Agree (3), and Strongly Agree (4) for the statement 'the words were clear.' Higher values mean better outcome.
Sounds Are Distorted	The patient will wear the Personal Sound Amplification Device for approximately 30 minutes	The patient will rate the following questions on a scale from Strongly Disagree (0), Disagree (1), Neutral (2), Agree (3), and Strongly Agree (4) for the statement 'the words were clear.' Lower values mean better outcome.