Clark Jackie L, Pustejovsky Carmen, Vanneste Sven
a University of Texas, Callier Center for Communication Disorders , Dallas , TX , USA.
b University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg , South Africa.
Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2017 Aug;12(6):614-617. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2016.1201153. Epub 2016 Jul 4.
With the advent of Bluetooth technology, many of the assistive listening devices for hearing have become manufacturer specific, with little objective information about the performance provided.
Thirty native English-speaking adults (mean age 29.8) with normal hearing were tested pseudo-randomly with two major hearing aid manufacturers' proprietary Bluetooth connectivity devices paired to the accompanying manufacturer's specific hearing aids. Sentence recognition performance was objectively measured for each system with signals transmitted via a land-line to the same iPhone in two conditions.
There was a significant effect of participant's performance according to listening condition. There was no significant effect between device manufacturers according to listening condition, but there was a significant effect in participant's perception of "quality of sound".
Despite differences in signal transmission for each devise, when worn by participants both the systems performed equally. In fact, participants expressed personal preferences for specific technology that was largely due to their perceived quality of sound while listening to recorded signals. While further research is necessary to investigate other measures of benefit for Bluetooth connectivity devices, preliminary data suggest that in order to ensure comfort and compatibility, not only should objective measures of the patient benefit be completed, but also assessing the patient's perception of benefit is equally important. Implications for Rehabilitation All professionals who work with individuals with hearing loss, become aware of the differences in the multiple choices for assistive technology readily available for hearing loss. With the ever growing dispensing of Bluetooth connectivity devices coupled to hearing aids, there is an increased burden to determine whether performance differences could exist between manufacturers. There is a growing need to investigate other measures of benefit for Bluetooth hearing aid connectivity devices that not only include objective measures, but also patient perception of benefit.
随着蓝牙技术的出现，许多听力辅助设备已成为特定制造商的产品，关于其提供的性能的客观信息很少。
三十名听力正常、以英语为母语的成年人（平均年龄29.8岁）被伪随机测试，使用两家主要助听器制造商的专有蓝牙连接设备与随附的制造商特定助听器配对。在两种情况下，通过固定线路将信号传输到同一部iPhone，客观测量每个系统的句子识别性能。
根据听力条件，参与者的表现有显著影响。根据听力条件，设备制造商之间没有显著影响，但参与者对“音质”的感知有显著影响。
尽管每个设备的信号传输存在差异，但参与者佩戴时两个系统的表现相同。事实上，参与者对特定技术表达了个人偏好，这在很大程度上是由于他们在听录制信号时感知到的音质。虽然需要进一步研究来调查蓝牙连接设备的其他益处衡量标准，但初步数据表明，为了确保舒适度和兼容性，不仅应完成患者益处的客观衡量，评估患者对益处的感知同样重要。对康复的启示所有与听力损失患者打交道的专业人员，应了解现有的多种听力损失辅助技术选择之间的差异。随着与助听器耦合的蓝牙连接设备的不断普及，确定制造商之间是否可能存在性能差异的负担越来越重。越来越需要研究蓝牙助听器连接设备的其他益处衡量标准，这些标准不仅应包括客观衡量标准，还应包括患者对益处的感知。
