PMID- 25690773
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20180124
LR  - 20200423
IS  - 2157-3107 (Electronic)
IS  - 1050-0545 (Print)
IS  - 1050-0545 (Linking)
VI  - 26
IP  - 2
DP  - 2015 Feb
TI  - High-frequency audibility: the effects of audiometric configuration, stimulus 
      type, and device.
PG  - 128-37
LID - 10.3766/jaaa.26.2.3 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: For the last decade, the importance of providing amplification up to 
      9-10 kHz has been supported by multiple studies involving children and adults. 
      The extent to which a listener with hearing loss can benefit from bandwidth 
      expansion is dependent on the audibility of high-frequency cues. The American 
      National Standards Institute (ANSI) devised a standard method for measuring and 
      reporting hearing aid bandwidth for quality-control purposes. However, ANSI 
      bandwidth measurements were never intended to reflect the true frequency range 
      that is audible for a speech stimulus for a person with hearing loss. PURPOSE: 
      The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the maximum audible frequency of 
      conventional hearing aids using a speech signal as the input through the hearing 
      aid microphone for different degrees of hearing loss, (2) examine how the maximum 
      audible frequency changes when the input stimulus is presented through hearing 
      assistance technology (HAT) systems with cross-coupling of manufacturers' 
      transmitters and receivers, and (3) evaluate how the maximum audible frequency 
      compares with the upper limit of the ANSI bandwidth measure. RESEARCH DESIGN: 
      Eight behind-the-ear hearing aids from five hearing aid manufacturers were 
      selected based on a range of ANSI bandwidth upper frequency limits. Three 
      audiometric configurations with varied degrees of high-frequency hearing loss 
      were programmed into each hearing aid. Hearing aid responses were measured with 
      the International Speech Test Signal (ISTS), broadband noise, and a short speech 
      token (/asa/) as stimuli presented through a loudspeaker. HAT devices from three 
      manufacturers were used to create five HAT scenarios. These instruments were 
      coupled to the hearing aid programmed for the audiogram that provided the highest 
      maximum audible frequency in the hearing aid analysis. The response from each HAT 
      scenario was obtained using the same three stimuli as during the hearing aid 
      analysis. STUDY SAMPLE: All measurements were collected in an audiometric sound 
      booth on a Knowles Electronic Manikin for Acoustic Research (KEMAR). DATA 
      COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: A custom computer program was used to record responses 
      from KEMAR. Maximum audible frequency was defined as the highest point where the 
      Long-Term Average Speech Spectrum (LTASS) intersected the audiogram. RESULTS: The 
      average maximum audible frequency measured through KEMAR ranged from 3.5 kHz to 
      beyond 8 kHz and varied significantly across devices, audiograms, and stimuli. 
      The specified upper limit of the ANSI bandwidth was not predictive of the maximum 
      audible frequency across conditions. For most HAT systems, the maximum audible 
      frequency for the hearing aid plus HAT condition was equivalent to the hearing 
      aid for the same measurement configuration. In some cases, however, the HAT 
      system imposed a lower maximum audible frequency than the hearing aid-only 
      condition. CONCLUSIONS: The maximum audible frequency of behind-the-ear hearing 
      aids is dependent on the degree of hearing loss, amplification device, and 
      stimulus input. Estimating the maximum audible frequency by estimating the 
      frequency where the speech spectrum intersects the audiogram in the high 
      frequencies can assist clinicians in making decisions about which device or 
      configuration of devices provides the greatest access to high-frequency 
      information, as well as whether frequency-lowering technology should be used.
CI  - American Academy of Audiology.
FAU - Kimlinger, Chelsea
AU  - Kimlinger C
AD  - University of Nebraska - Lincoln; Current affiliation: Children's Hospitals and 
      Clinics of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN.
FAU - McCreery, Ryan
AU  - McCreery R
AD  - Boys Town National Research Hospital, Lincoln, NE.
FAU - Lewis, Dawna
AU  - Lewis D
AD  - Boys Town National Research Hospital, Lincoln, NE.
LA  - eng
GR  - R01 DC004300/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States
GR  - R03 DC012635/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - J Am Acad Audiol
JT  - Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
JID - 9114646
SB  - IM
MH  - Acoustic Stimulation
MH  - *Audiometry
MH  - Auditory Perception/*physiology
MH  - *Hearing Aids
MH  - Hearing Loss/*diagnosis/*physiopathology/therapy
MH  - Humans
MH  - Speech Perception/*physiology
PMC - PMC4397964
MID - NIHMS674037
EDAT- 2015/02/19 06:00
MHDA- 2015/02/19 06:01
PMCR- 2016/02/01
CRDT- 2015/02/19 06:00
PHST- 2015/02/19 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2015/02/19 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2015/02/19 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2016/02/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.3766/jaaa.26.2.3 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Am Acad Audiol. 2015 Feb;26(2):128-37. doi: 10.3766/jaaa.26.2.3.