Music listening and hearing aids: perspectives from audiologists and their patients

Greasley, Alinka; Crook, Harriet; Fulford, Robert

doi:10.1080/14992027.2020.1762126

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Although these situations are not as prevalent as communicating in noise, users highly motivated to personalize their experience can still benefit from adopting specific listening programs for these situations. The prevalence of the Music program is consistent with previous studies finding that between 30% and 67% of HA users may encounter difficulties with listening to music [ 51 , 52 ] and indicating that the enjoyment of listening to music with HAs could be improved by addressing problems such as distortion, acoustic feedback, insufficient or excessive gain, unbalanced frequency response, and reduced tone quality [ 52 , 53 ]. A listening program dedicated to music has previously been proposed to make music more enjoyable [ 54 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Investigating the Provision and Context of Use of Hearing Aid Listening Programs From Real-world Data: Observational Study

Pasta¹,

Szatmari²,

Christensen³

et al. 2022

J Med Internet Res

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Background Listening programs enable hearing aid (HA) users to change device settings for specific listening situations and thereby personalize their listening experience. However, investigations into real-world use of such listening programs to support clinical decisions and evaluate the success of HA treatment are lacking. Objective We aimed to investigate the provision of listening programs among a large group of in-market HA users and the context in which the programs are typically used. Methods First, we analyzed how many and which programs were provided to 32,336 in-market HA users. Second, we explored 332,271 program selections from 1312 selected users to investigate the sound environments in which specific programs were used and whether such environments reflect the listening intent conveyed by the name of the used program. Our analysis was based on real-world longitudinal data logged by smartphone-connected HAs. Results In our sample, 57.71% (18,663/32,336) of the HA users had programs for specific listening situations, which is a higher proportion than previously reported, most likely because of the inclusion criteria. On the basis of association rule mining, we identified a primary additional listening program, Speech in Noise, which is frequent among users and often provided when other additional programs are also provided. We also identified 2 secondary additional programs (Comfort and Music), which are frequent among users who get ≥3 programs and usually provided in combination with Speech in Noise. In addition, 2 programs (TV and Remote Mic) were related to the use of external accessories and not found to be associated with other programs. On average, users selected Speech in Noise, Comfort, and Music in louder, noisier, and less-modulated (all P<.01) environments compared with the environment in which they selected the default program, General. The difference from the sound environment in which they selected General was significantly larger in the minutes following program selection than in the minutes preceding it. Conclusions This study provides a deeper insight into the provision of listening programs on a large scale and demonstrates that additional listening programs are used as intended and according to the sound environment conveyed by the program name.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Investigating the Provision and Context of Use of Hearing Aid Listening Programs From Real-world Data: Observational Study

Pasta¹,

Szatmari²,

Christensen³

et al. 2022

J Med Internet Res

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“…Such difficulties may subsequently lead to less or non-use of the HA. Conventional HA owners reported difficulties in specific listening situations, e.g., when listening to or performing music ( Greasley et al, 2020 ; Skagerstrand et al, 2014 ; Vaisberg, Martindale, Folkeard, & Benedict, 2019 ) and during telephone conversations ( Gallagher & Woodside, 2018 ; Linssen et al, 2013 ; Skagerstrand et al, 2014 ; Stephens & Meredith, 1991 ). This often resulted in upset and frustration and ultimately affected HA owners’ quality of life.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The HA owners’ attitude was also a common concept in reports of HA owners related to experiences of sub-optimal HA use. Reports reflecting a negative attitude and/or negative emotional state or hesitation towards HA use by owners of conventional HAs were associated with avoidance of or reduced use of HAs ( Chundu et al, 2021 ; Gallagher & Woodside, 2018 ; Greasley et al, 2020 ; Laplante-Lévesque et al, 2012 ; Linssen et al, 2013 ). Hesitation toward user-driven hearing devices was also identified as a challenge to the use of smartphone-connected, app-controlled HAs ( Keidser et al, 2019 ; Ng et al, 2017 ), revealing these owners’ concerns about the outcomes with HAs due to lesser involvement of a hearing care professional (HCP).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing aid Experiences of Adult Hearing aid Owners During and After Fitting: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

et al. 2022

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There has been an increasing number of qualitative studies exploring the experiences and perceptions of adult hearing aid owners throughout their hearing aid journey. As these studies and reported experiences vary greatly, a systematic review was conducted to identify and synthesize the key concepts in adult hearing aid owners’ experiences during and after fitting. A systematic search of three electronic databases was conducted, yielding 443 results. Articles were evaluated for inclusion based on pre-determined eligibility criteria, including conventional, smartphone-connected, and direct-to-consumer hearing devices. Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the included articles was evaluated using the Rating of Qualitative Research scale. Guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) and the Synthesis Without Meta-Analysis (SWiM) were followed. A narrative synthesis was conducted, and studies were grouped into three main domains, namely experiences of owners related to a) hearing aid adoption and fitting (n = 3), b) hearing aid use (n = 20), and c) hearing aid sub-optimal use (n = 25). Hearing aid owners mainly reported on how their attitude towards hearing aids affected experiences during the fitting stage. Improved psychosocial functioning was the most prevalent perceived benefit of hearing aid use. Owners described sub-optimal use in terms of hearing device-related and non-device-related concepts. The COM-B (capability, opportunity, motivation-behavior) model is used to discuss specific service-delivery, hearing-device, and hearing-aid-owner related concepts and clinical implications, including behavior change techniques to enhance understanding of the concepts that hearing aid owners perceive as essential to improve hearing aid experiences.

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“…Hearing aid users report dissatisfaction with hearing aid processed music (Greasley et al, 2020;Leek et al, 2008;Looi et al, 2019;Madsen & Moore, 2014;Vaisberg et al, 2019), and this may relate to the variable nature of the acoustics of music.Speech is acoustically predictable because it originates from the vocal tract and has well-understood spectral content and levels (Hillenbrand et al, 1995;Olsen, 1998). One study demonstrated similar long-term spectra across 12 languages (Byrne et al, 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Sound Quality Dimensions Influencing Frequency-Gain Shaping Preferences for Hearing Aid-Amplified Speech and Music

et al. 2021

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Hearing aids are typically fitted using speech-based prescriptive formulae to make speech more intelligible. Individual preferences may vary from these prescriptions and may also vary with signal type. It is important to consider what motivates listener preferences and how those preferences can inform hearing aid processing so that assistive listening devices can best be tailored for hearing aid users. Therefore, this study explored preferred frequency-gain shaping relative to prescribed gain for speech and music samples. Preferred gain was determined for 22 listeners with mild sloping to moderately severe hearing loss relative to individually prescribed amplification while listening to samples of male speech, female speech, pop music, and classical music across low-, mid-, and high-frequency bands. Samples were amplified using a fast-acting compression hearing aid simulator. Preferences were determined using an adaptive paired comparison procedure. Listeners then rated speech and music samples processed using prescribed and preferred shaping across different sound quality descriptors. On average, low-frequency gain was significantly increased relative to the prescription for all stimuli and most substantially for pop and classical music. High-frequency gain was decreased significantly for pop music and male speech. Gain adjustments, particularly in the mid- and high-frequency bands, varied considerably between listeners. Music preferences were driven by changes in perceived fullness and sharpness, whereas speech preferences were driven by changes in perceived intelligibility and loudness. The results generally support the use of prescribed amplification to optimize speech intelligibility and alternative amplification for music listening for most listeners.

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Music listening and hearing aids: perspectives from audiologists and their patients

Cited by 23 publications

References 26 publications

Investigating the Provision and Context of Use of Hearing Aid Listening Programs From Real-world Data: Observational Study

Investigating the Provision and Context of Use of Hearing Aid Listening Programs From Real-world Data: Observational Study

Hearing aid Experiences of Adult Hearing aid Owners During and After Fitting: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

Perceived Sound Quality Dimensions Influencing Frequency-Gain Shaping Preferences for Hearing Aid-Amplified Speech and Music

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