Relationship between electrical and acoustical characteristics of amplification systems and reduced auditory sensitivity

Current methods of selection of amplification are not readily applicable to children, and relatively few alternatives have been explored. Consequently, the audiologist must make a number of rather arbitrary judgements with little concrete information to support his recommendation of a given instrument. He has limited means of clinically determining the sustainability of the instrument for the child. This study was designed to explore the relationship between several factors which may add to the existing body of data related to the problems of amplification in children. In brief, the problem was to determine the various electrical and acoustical characteristics of hearing aids worn by children under study. A comparison of this information with hearing loss data would be studied to aid in understanding what relationships (if any) exist between the two measures. If in fact there is a relationship between the factors of hearing loss and hearing aid characteristics, this information may provide a more comprehensive and precise means of examining a given hearing aid in view of the hearing loss specific to each child. While this information may be preliminary in nature, it has application in the development of ongoing programs of evaluation and maintenance of hearing aids. A brief comparison of the present performance of the instrument with both the original performance levels and the child’s current needs would appear to be an integral part of such a program