Perspectives Winter/Spring-2017

COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES • 29 Patients with sensorineural hearing loss, especially in the high frequencies, com- monly report difficulty understanding speech in the presence of background noise. For these patients, it is typical to recom- mend hearing aids; however, patients often resist using them. Many patients often try over-the-counter amplifiers, otherwise known as personal sound amplification products (PSAP). The technology of PSAPs is advancing, but the differences in perfor- mance between approved hearing aids and PSAPs are unclear. If PSAP function is comparable to hearing aid technology, the value of these PSAPs may be greater than that of hearing aids for patients with minimal hearing loss. In this study, researchers compared electroacoustic analysis of PSAPs to hearing aids. Research- ers chose three PSAPs and four hearing aids for evaluation. The hearing aids varied by technology level—two premium, one affordable, and one basic—and were pro- grammed for a minimal, high-frequency hearing loss. Researchers compared the magnitude of noise reduction using front-to-back ratios and omnidirectional vs. fixed-directional microphones between hearing aids and PSAPs. Omni to fixed-directional microphone testing revealed one PSAP to have a greater magnitude of noise reduction in its omnidirectional setting in comparison to the hearing aids. None of the hearing aids was significantly different from the other. Signal-to-noise ratio testing revealed the same PSAP to be most similar to three of the four hearing aids tested. The remain- ing two PSAPs were only comparable in performance to the basic technology hearing aid. Overall, the performance of one PSAP is comparable to several of the hearing aids tested, suggesting this could be a viable option for those patients with minimal, high-frequency hearing loss who are reluctant to purchase hearing aids. n Comparing Performance Between Hearing Aids and Personal Sound Amplification Products BY LACHELLE LAZARUS, AU.D., CLASS OF 2016 Lachelle Lazarus, Au.D., a recent NSU graduate, is working as a licensed clinical audiologist at the Yale Hearing and Balance Center in New Haven, Connecticut. “The advocacy trip went above and beyond my expecta- tions. I think it can be intimidating to students to think about going to Capitol Hill and speaking to staffers, but it wasn’t as scary as I thought,” said third-year student Ashley Radcliffe. “It was a chance to have conversations with people about what we do and where we want to see our field go in the future. Most people aren’t familiar with audiology, so it’s our job to educate them. Overall, it made me realize how important it is to be active about legislation in our field.” Thankfully, the hard work paid off. On September 12, 2016, Congress amended the Veterans Mobility Act of 2015 (H.R. 3471), which served as an important first step to ensure veterans receive a higher standard of care by requiring hearing aid dispensers be supervised by an audiologist. n