Evaluating Device-based Rehabilitation for Veterans With Functional Hearing Difficulties: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Every year, approximately 100,000 Veterans seek help at VA Audiology clinics for hearing and communication difficulties only to learn that they have normal hearing sensitivity. Unfortunately, there are very few established options to improve hearing and listening for these patients. To address this need, audiologists are increasingly prescribing hearing aids set to provide a small amount of amplification. Patients may benefit from the amplification or from modern hearing aid features such as noise reduction technology and the ability to stream sounds from a desired sound source directly to their ears thus reducing the background noise. This project will help to determine if prescribing hearing aids to patients without hearing loss is, in fact, beneficial and if so, why. It will also help to determine if some patients benefit more from hearing aids than others so that in the future, rehabilitation strategies can be better targeted toward individuals.
• Veteran eligible for VA Healthcare
• Ability to travel to VA Portland Medical Center for repeated visits
• Pure-tone thresholds of no more than 30 dB HL at frequencies between 500 and 3000 Hz, and no more than 40 dB HL at 4000 Hz
• HHIA scores of 24 or greater indicating moderate to significant perceived hearing handicap