Real World Perspectives on Advancements in Hearing Aid Technology

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study will compare different microphone technologies in a noisy environment when the dominant speaker is at the front, back, left, or right side of the listener.

Detailed Description
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Understanding speech in a noisy environment can be difficult for people with hearing loss even with hearing aids. Hearing aid manufacturers have implanted various methods (i.e., directional micro-phones, noise reduction, noise cancelers) to try to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to increase the speech understanding in these difficult listening situations. This study is evaluating different microphone technologies to determine listening effort when speech is to the back or side of the listener in noisy environment.

Official Title
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Real World Perspectives on Advancements in Hearing Aid Technology

Conditions
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Hearing Loss

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: Phonak Audeo previous generation hearing aids
* Device: Phonak Audeo Lumity hearing aids


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Moderate sensorineural hearing loss Experienced hearing aid user Has a significant other/communication partner that can fill out a questionnaire about hearing aid performance during the home trial Smartphone user for receiving study alerts Exclusion Criteria: Cognitive impairment Not willing to wear hearing aid

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 90 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Participants tested with comparator devices first, then Audeo Lumity devices<br>All participants who completed speech in noise testing in the lab with the comparator devices first, and then the Audeo Lumity devices. | Device: Phonak Audeo previous generation hearing aids<br>* Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids with universal earpieces<br>Device: Phonak Audeo Lumity hearing aids<br>* Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids with universal earpieces<br>|
| Experimental: Participants who were tested with Audeo Lumity first, then comparator devices<br>All participants who completed speech in noise testing in the lab with the Audeo Lumity devices first, and then the comparator devices. | Device: Phonak Audeo previous generation hearing aids<br>* Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids with universal earpieces<br>Device: Phonak Audeo Lumity hearing aids<br>* Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids with universal earpieces<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Speech in Noise Test | A speech in noise test in which participants repeat words which are presented in the presence of background noise. In a 12-speaker array, speech is presented from speakers either on the left side of the participant (-90 degrees) or from behind the participant (180 degrees) while background noise is presented from remaining speakers. Scores are calculated as the number of words correctly repeated and expressed as a percentage. A higher percentage or score is better. | Day 1 of study | 
| Subjective Perception of Listening Effort | Following the speech in noise testing in the lab, participants rated their listening effort on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 = no effort and 10 = a lot of effort. In this case, a lower rating is better as it indicates less perceived listening effort. | Day 1 of study |