Hearing Aid Evaluations for Persons With Total Postlingual Hearing Loss

Abstract

• To answer the question whether persons with total postlingual hearing loss can benefit from hearing aid use, hearing aid evaluations were carried out for 18 subjects. Nonstandardized listening tasks were necessitated because none of the subjects could discriminate speech. Subjective considerations played an integral role in the evaluation procedure. The results of the evaluations were as follows: (1) six subjects became new hearing aid users; (2) two retained the aids they were already wearing; (3) one improved when the hearing aid was changed to the opposite ear; (4) one obtained a satisfactory replacement for an inadequate instrument; and (5) eight were unable to use an aid to advantage. Thus, it is important that all persons with total postlingual hearing loss be afforded the opportunity of a careful hearing aid evaluation. (Arch Otolaryngol 104:446-450, 1978)