Keidser Gitte, Dillon Harvey, Zhou Dan, Carter Lyndal
National Acoustic Laboratories and the Hearing Cooperative Research Centre, Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia.
Trends Amplif. 2011 Dec;15(4):167-74. doi: 10.1177/1084713812438700. Epub 2012 Mar 7.
A self-fitting, self-contained hearing aid is a device that can be managed entirely by the user, without assistance from a hearing health care professional or the need for special equipment. A key component of such a device is an automated audiometer that will enable the user to self-administer measurements of in situ thresholds, which the hearing aid will use to prescribe a baseline setting for the wearer. The success of the device therefore depends on the validity and reliability of in situ threshold measurements and automatically measured thresholds. To produce a complete and self-contained device, the self-fitting hearing aid will also enable identification of audiograms that are contraindicative of hearing aid usage. The feasibility and challenges of achieving these characteristics are explored and discussed. While the overall concept seems feasible, several challenges were identified that need thorough investigation and/or development. These include the use of instructions to self-manage hearing aid insertion and in situ threshold measurements, selection of an appropriate transducer and instant-fit tip that will allow measurements of a wide range of threshold levels, control of ambient noise during threshold measurements, and self-manageable procedures that enable identification of such audiogram characteristics as asymmetry and conductive hearing loss.
一种自适配、独立的助听器是一种完全可由用户自行管理的设备，无需听力保健专业人员的协助，也无需特殊设备。这种设备的一个关键组件是自动听力计，它将使用户能够自行进行原位阈值测量，助听器将利用这些测量结果为佩戴者规定基线设置。因此，该设备的成功取决于原位阈值测量和自动测量阈值的有效性和可靠性。为了生产出完整且独立的设备，自适配助听器还将能够识别与助听器使用相悖的听力图。探讨并讨论了实现这些特性的可行性和挑战。虽然总体概念似乎可行，但也发现了一些需要深入研究和/或开发的挑战。这些挑战包括使用说明来自我管理助听器的佩戴和原位阈值测量、选择合适的换能器和即时适配耳塞以允许测量广泛的阈值水平、在阈值测量期间控制环境噪声，以及能够识别诸如不对称和传导性听力损失等听力图特征的自我管理程序。
