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10/26/2019  |   10:30 AM - 11:45 AM   |  Ventana Ballroom C

Implications of Ear Canal Volumns in Brazilian Children for Hearing Aid Fitting

Children’s ear canal volumes change as they grow. The audiology community have recognized the importance of accounting for age-related changes in ear canal volumes by measuring children’s real-ear-to-coupler differences (RECDs) or using standard age-related RECDs provided by prescription methods to generate gain/output targets for fitting hearing aids. The RECDs of both prominent hearing aid fitting prescriptive methods (i.e., NAL-NL2 and DSL5), however, were based on Caucasian children in Australia and Canada. These standard age-related changes in RECDs have been adopted and applied to children with different ethnic origins around the world. The objective of this study was to examine the ear canal volume differences between Brazilian and US children aged 10-18 years. Hearing tests were conducted as a part of wellness check for students in the US and in Brazil. Tympanometry was part of the hearing screening protocol and students’ ear canal volumes, static compliance, and peak pressure were measured and recorded. Only children with Type A tympanograms were included in this study. The differences in the ear canal volumes of the US children were compared with those published by the researchers who developed the NAL-NL2 and DSL5 at corresponding ages. Similar comparisons were also made between the Brazilian and US children. The corresponding RECD generated by different ear canal volumes were calculated and their implications to the target gains of hearing aid prescriptions will be discussed. The differences in tympanic membrane static compliance between the Brazilian and US students will also be discussed.

• 1. Participants will be able to describe the ear canal volume differences between Caucasian and Brazilian children
• Participants will be able to describe the use of RECD in fitting hearing aids to children
• 3. Participants will be able to explain how standard hearing aid prescription targets need to be changed for Brazilian children

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King Chung (POC,Primary Presenter,Author), Northern Illinois University, amplificationrocks@yahoo.com;
Dr. King Chung is a Professor of Audiology at Northern Illinois University. She has been leading students on humanitarian research and service trips to different countries every summer for several years. The long-term goal for these research and service trips is to facilitate better hearing services to all peoples around the world. A researcher at heart, Dr. Chung report the hearing systems in the visited countries/regions and the hearing status of people tested during these trips in professional publications so that more people are aware of the great demands for hearing services in different countries. The long-term goals of these humanitarian research and service trips are: 1. To facilitate academic and clinic exchanges, 2. To deliver hearing services to underprivileged populations, 3. To provide participants wit opportunities for cultural immersion 4. To advocate better hearing services for underserved and unserved populations around the the world

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Receives Other financial benefit for Other activities from Program Director of a trip partially sponsored by Oticon US..   Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Receives support from Oticon US .