WHITE PAPERS

Field test of ReSoundAIR

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Summary


A high definition compression system for open fittings

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Summary


Signal processing for open fittings

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Clinical evolution of a non-occluding DSP hearing instrument

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An innovative non-occluding DSP device

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Summary

Summary - Field test of ReSoundAIR

The 10-week field trial of the occlusion-free hearing aid on 17 test subjects with severe high-frequency hearing losses showed that this new type of hearing aid is exceptionally well received by users. This is supported not only by the objective data (speech audiornetry, insertion gain measurements and maximum stable gain measurements) and the subjective evaluation (various questionnaires) but also by the informal comments of the test subjects. Features rated especially positively by the test subjects were the open nature of the hearing instrument, the transparent acoustics associated with this, the high degree of comfort when wearing the instrument, and the innovative design. Some subjects indicated problems with retentions of the test device in the ear canal. These were satisfactorily resolved with the addition of the supporting plastic strip to the sound tube.

The assessment of new hearing aids by test subjects is inevitably biased by a "novelty bonus" when the trial cannot be conducted as a blind study. Even so, the results reported here may still be regarded as extremely favourable for the test device. It is therefore not surprising that most of the test subjects preferred the test hearing instrument over their own devices. Several of them reported that they would have purchased the test hearing instrument if they had been on the market at the time of the study.

The majority of the test subjects found that the test hearing instrument afforded sufficient gain for their personal amplification needs without feedback provided the digital feedback suppression feature was active.

In sum, this occlusion-free instrument allows patients with high-frequency hearing loss to enjoy the benefits of amplification without the occlusion-related drawbacks. In comparison with the options which have been available until now, this solution give dispensers a unique and effective alternative for open-ear fittings of patients with high-frequency losses.