Vlastarakos P V, Nikolopoulos T P, Manolopoulos L, Stamou A, Halkiotis K K, Ferekidis E, Georgiou E
ENT Department, Lister Hospital, UK.
B-ENT. 2012;8(2):95-101.
To quantify the bystander-effect of 2.5G mobile telephones (2.5G-MTs) on the speech perception of digital hearing-aid (dHA) users. Differences in the susceptibility of behind-the-ear (BTE) compared to in-to-the-ear (ITE) dHAs were also assessed.
MATERIALS/METHODS: Prospective-comparative study conducted at a tertiary referral centre (ENT Department) and a HA-fitting laboratory. Key-word recognition scores from open-sentence lists were calculated. Power-analysis determined that a minimum of 60 subjects with SNHL (30 in each group), using either BTE or ITE dHAs, were required for reliable study outcomes. Sixty-four adults were tested with a functioning 2.5G-MT at almost physical contact with their ear; thirty subjects used BTE and 34 ITE dHAs.
Aided word recognition score differences between studied groups and within each group, while a 2.5G-MT was activated. Cut-off inclusion criterion regarding baseline aided word recognition score was 75%.
Baseline aided word recognition scores for ITE dHAs were better compared to BTE ones (p < 0.01). Following the 2.5G-MT activation, this difference disappeared. No statistically significant difference in word recognition was observed between the examined groups, or within the BTE group, from the bystander-effect of the 2.5G-MT. ITE dHAs proved more susceptible to electromagnetic interference (p < 0.05).
The bystander-effect of 2.5G-MTs on the speech perception of dHA users is either minimal, or not significant. The observed compatibility has a positive impact on the lives of millions of people worldwide. The long-standing theory of more interference in BTE compared to ITE HAs is not confirmed by the results of the present study. EBM level of evidence: 2c.
量化2.5G移动电话（2.5G-MT）对数字助听器（dHA）使用者言语感知的旁观者效应。同时评估耳背式（BTE）与耳道式（ITE）数字助听器易感性的差异。
材料/方法：在一家三级转诊中心（耳鼻喉科）和一个助听器验配实验室进行前瞻性比较研究。计算开放式句子列表中的关键词识别分数。功效分析确定，为获得可靠的研究结果，至少需要60名患有感音神经性听力损失（SNHL）的受试者（每组30名），分别使用BTE或ITE数字助听器。64名成年人在2.5G-MT与耳朵几乎接触的情况下进行测试；30名受试者使用BTE数字助听器，34名受试者使用ITE数字助听器。
在激活2.5G-MT时，研究组之间以及每组内部的助听关键词识别分数差异。关于基线助听关键词识别分数的纳入标准截断值为75%。
ITE数字助听器的基线助听关键词识别分数优于BTE数字助听器（p < 0.01）。在激活2.5G-MT后，这种差异消失。在2.5G-MT的旁观者效应方面，各检查组之间或BTE组内部，在关键词识别上未观察到统计学显著差异。ITE数字助听器被证明更容易受到电磁干扰（p < 0.05）。
2.5G-MT对dHA使用者言语感知的旁观者效应要么极小，要么不显著。观察到的兼容性对全球数百万人的生活有积极影响。本研究结果未证实长期以来认为BTE比ITE助听器更容易受到干扰的理论。循证医学证据水平：2c。
