Loudness discomfort levels and saturation levels in hearing aids prescribed for young persons.

Hearing aids were re-evaluated for 18 persons aged 11-16 years. Since these aids were fitted mainly using an informal test of aided loudness discomfort, the saturation levels were re-evaluated with a new magnitude-estimation procedure for measuring unaided and aided loudness discomfort levels. Sixteen subjects had used hearing aids capable of producing uncomfortably loud warble tones. New hearing aids were fitted according to the new loudness discomfort data and the NAL recommendation for insertion gain. When forced to choose between the previously prescribed hearing aids and the new aids after three weeks of real life comparison, most subjects preferred the new instruments, but three persons finally decided to wear hearing aids with saturation levels exceeding their loudness discomfort levels. The magnitude estimation procedure was found to be clinically feasible, although problems with the instruction caused uncertainty in some cases. Measured loudness discomfort levels increased 5-10 dB between test and retest sessions.