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10/25/2016  |   1:30 PM - 2:30 PM   |  BGPOP Building 4A/B/C

Hearing for Humanity Novel Hearing Aid Fitting Approach for Developing Countries

Hearing for Humanity is a team of audiologists and students from Arizona State University dedicated to providing sustainable humanitarian audiologic and rehabilitative services for improving the quality of life of children and adults with hearing loss in Malawi Africa. The Hearing for Humanity model stresses the importance of following best practices and ethical standards in identification and treatment of hearing loss. Fitting hearing aids in a developing country should be done responsibly by following best practices and ethical guidelines. Hearing for Humanity uses a clinical-based approach that verifies appropriate audibility for each fitting by programming hearing aids to achieve amplification targets. While this approach ensures fitting precision, it forgoes scalability. Further, many groups providing humanitarian audiology in developing countries lack the equipment to perform verification in the field. Further, it is well documented that manufacturer simulated real ear measures are poor predictors of actual hearing aid performance (Aarts and Caffee, 2005), resulting in less than 82% of amplification targets meeting a lax criterion of + 10 dB. The British Society of Audiology (2007) recommends meeting amplification targets within + 5 dB of target at frequencies 250 Hz through 2kHz and 8 dB at 3kHz and 4kHz. Additionally, the slope in each octave should be with + 5 dB of the target. It has also been shown that achieving amplification targets results in better outcomes in both adults (Abrams et al, 2012) and children (Tomblin et al, 2014). This presentation examines the results of a pilot project to test a novel fitting approach using standardized audiograms, with the goal of improving efficiency without sacrificing quality. Data are presented on the effectiveness of such a model in a developing country and if the model is a suitable alternative to the clinical-based approach.

• Describe the differences in terms of measured audibility using a clinical-based approach vs. a fitting approach based on standardized audiograms.
• Describe the importance of following best practices and ethical standards in the identification and treatment of hearing loss
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a clinical-based approach vs. a fitting approach based on standardized audiograms.

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Ingrid McBride (POC,Primary Presenter), Arizona State University, ingrid.mcbride@outlook.com;
Dr. McBride is a Clinical Professor of Audiology at Arizona State University. She specializes in amplification technology, including hearing aids, cochlear implants, and hearing assistive technology. Dr. McBride is dedicated to improving the access to audiologic services to underserved populations. Dr. McBride has extensive experience in providing humanitarian services on the ground in Malawi Africa and on site as well as via tele-audiology San Felipe Mexico.