Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2013
Description
Objective: To examine the impact of prescription on predicted speech intelligibility and loudness for children. Design: A between-group comparison of speech intelligibility index (SII) and loudness, based on hearing aids fitted according to NAL-NL1, DSL v4.1, or DSL m[i/o] prescriptions. A within-group comparison of gains prescribed by DSL m[i/o] and NAL-NL2 for children in terms of SII and loudness. Study sample: Participants were 200 children, who were randomly assigned to first hearing-aid fitting with either NAL-NL1, DSL v4.1, or DSL m[i/o]. Audiometric data and hearing-aid data at 3 years of age were used. Results: On average, SII calculated on the basis of hearing-aid gains were higher for DSL than for NAL-NL1 at low input level, equivalent at medium input level, and higher for NAL-NL1 than DSL at high input level. Greater loudness was associated with DSL than with NAL-NL1, across a range of input levels. Comparing NAL-NL2 and DSL m[i/o] target gains revealed higher SII for the latter at low input level. SII was higher for NAL-NL2 than for DSL m[i/o] at medium- and high-input levels despite greater loudness for gains prescribed by DSL m[i/o] than by NAL-NL2. Conclusion: The choice of prescription has minimal effects on speech intelligibility predictions but marked effects on loudness predictions.
Comments
Yes - NIH
Citation Information
Ching, Teresa Y.C.; Johnson, Earl E.; Hou, Sanna; Dillon, Harvey; Zhang, Vicky; Burns, Lauren; van Buynder, Patricia; Wong, Angela; and Flynn, Christopher. 2013. A Comparison of NAL and DSL Prescriptive Methods for Paediatric Hearing-Aid Fitting: Predicted Speech Intelligibility and Loudness. International Journal of Audiology. Vol.52(2). 29-38. https://doi.org/10.3109/14992027.2013.765041 ISSN: 1499-2027
Copyright Statement
This document is an author manuscript from PMC. The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at International Journal of Audiology.