Research (R)
Carly Schimmel, AuD (she/her/hers)
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado
Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.
Kayla Cormier, AuD
University of Colorado Boulder
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Anu Sharma, PhD, CCC-A
Professor
University of Colorado at Boulder
Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.
Vinaya Manchaiah, Professor
Professor and Director of Audiology
University of Colorado School of Medicine, Colorado
Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.
De Wet Swanepoel, PhD
Professor
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.
Rationale: Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing devices often use online and at-home hearing tests to identify hearing loss and fit hearing aids. An appropriately fitted hearing aid is necessary for optimal outcomes. Here we evaluate the use of the Digits in Noise (DIN) test which can be used for hearing assessment by OTC devices. The DIN test is an internet-based adaptive, self-administered speech-in-noise test. Therefore, we are interested in examining the relationship of the DIN test with clinical measures such as QuickSIN and audiometric pure-tone thresholds. We expect the DIN to be correlated with both QuickSIN and puretone average (PTA).
Methods: QuickSIN and DIN measures were collected as part of a larger study. A subsample of these subjects (n=54), including 13 subjects with hearing loss aided with hearing aids, 26 with hearing loss unaided, and 15 with normal/near normal hearing, completed an audiometric evaluation, QuickSIN, and DIN measures in a sound-attenuated booth. The QuickSIN was presented at 65 db HL in the soundfield and the DIN was presented at a patient-selected comfortable level via an iPad. For these subjects, we will run correlations to compare DIN scores with QuickSIN and a high frequency pure-tone average (HFPTA) of 3, 4, and 6 kHz.
Results & Conclusions: Across all subjects, there was a significant positive correlation between QuickSIN scores and DIN scores. Additionally, both QuickSIN and DIN had significant relationships with HFPTA. Results indicate the DIN may be an accessible and accurate measure of hearing and speech perception difficulties that can be utilized at home by patients with self-perceived hearing loss, as a screening tool for hearing loss utilized by hearing centers or OTC devices, validating HA and CI fittings, or as an alternative to other speech in noise testing for non-native English speakers. The DIN should be evaluated in a home environment and compared with sound booth testing to determine if there are differences across these test environments, as people will likely be utilizing this in their homes.Learning Objectives: