Digital Hearing Aids and Cell Phones: The Impact of New Technology on Phone Use
By Recker, Karrie; Kalluri, Sridhar; Hearing Review, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 16-20Publication Date: March 2009
Article reports the results of a survey conducted to assess the impact of modern telephones and modern hearing aids on telephone use. The 48-item questionnaire focused on hearing-aid style, features, and technology; cell-phone usage; and participants’ degree of hearing loss. Of the 159 survey respondents, 37 percent wore behind-the-ear (BTE), 18 percent wore in-the-ear (ITE), 16 percent wore in-the-canal (ITC), and 23 percent wore completely-in-canal (CIC) instruments. Only 6 percent wore open-fit devices, and 20 percent reported having analog technology. Sixty-two percent of respondents completed the survey for their cell phone and 38 percent for their home phone. Survey findings include: (1) Respondents using digital devices had far fewer problems on the phone than those wearing analog devices, with those wearing newer digital devices having the fewest problems. (2) Of problems encountered in using a phone with a hearing aid, insufficient volume and speech understanding in noise were the most frequently reported. (3) Individuals wearing BTEs had fewer problems than those wearing custom devices. (4) Problems were similar for respondents who used a phone program than for those who did not. (5) Hearing-aid use on the phone was equally prevalent for cell-phone and home-phone users, although people tended to use cell phones in more difficult listening environments than they did home phones. (6) Individuals with milder hearing losses had fewer problems than those with more severe losses. (7) Individuals were more likely to use their hearing aids while on the phone if they did not experience problems doing so.
Published by: Ascend Media LLC (Website:http://www.ascendmedia.com)
Link to text: http://www.hearingreview.com/issues/articles/2009-03_02.asp
