SELF-PERCEIVED AND AUDIOMETRIC EVALUATIONS OF HEARING-AID BENEFIT IN THE ELDERLY

This study was designed to monitor benefit received from the use of am plification by 58 elderly new hearing users. The longitudinal study as sessed changes in self-perceived handicap and audiometric measures by analyzing data at prefitting anal at 3-wk, 3-mo, 6-mo, and 1-yr postfi tting intervals. Measurement tools included the Hearing Handicap Inven tory for the Elderly (HHIE), functional gain (500 through 4000 Hz), an d speech recognition measures in quiet and in noise. Results indicated a significant decrease in perceived handicap after 3 wk of hearing ai d use. After 3 mo, perceived handicap increased significantly before l eveling off at 6 mo and 1 yr. Audiometric measures remained constant t hroughout the period under investigation. Benefit as defined using fun ctional gain data was unrelated to benefit as defined using self-repor t data.