The Audiologist Informer

This study looked at 96,000 ears with normal hearing, conductive hearing loss (CHL), and a variety of SNHL etiologies. Word scores decreased dramatically with age and thresholds in all groups with SNHL, but relatively little in the CHL. Among the possible contributions to word score discrepancies for SNHL, cochlear nerve degeneration (CND) is a prime candidate: it should worsen intelligibility without affecting thresholds and has been documented in human temporal bones with SNHL. Comparing the audiological trends observed here with existing research supports the notion that word score discrepancies may be a useful CND metric.

Over the past decade, the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive decline has been a hot topic, with much of the research in this area misinterpreted or misunderstood. Johns Hopkins researcher Danielle Powell, PhD, provides a clearer picture of the linkage between hearing loss and cognitive decline and how hearing aids might help.

Instant ear tips and their coupling to the individual ear canal impact the hearing aid fittings and should be considered by the hearing care professionals and reflected in the fitting software. All tested ear tips were, on average, acoustically transparent up to 1 kHz except Double Domes, which were only transparent up to 600 Hz. Distinct vent effect profiles were found for each ear tip type, and the study findings reinforce the need for real-ear measurement during the fitting process.