OBJECTIVE: to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Parent Hearing Aid Management Inventory into Brazilian Portuguese.
METHODS: study of the methodological type of cross-cultural adaptation, which followed the recommendations of the literature for its execution. Two steps and eight steps were performed to achieve the adaptation: obtaining permission from the authors; formation of a committee of specialists who acted in some of the steps for the validation of the translation, translation by 2 proficient translators, synthesis of the translations and evaluation of equivalences, reverse translation and synthesis of the same, pilot study with 10 families to verify the applicability of the instrument and synthesis of the final version of the instrument.
RESULTS: Cohen\'s kappa analysis was applied for the inter-rater agreement analysis and Cronbach\'s alpha coefficient for the analysis of internal reliability of the instrument. After application with the families, the instrument was considered valid to assess the needs for guidance and support of families regarding the management of hearing devices in the population of children with hearing loss.
CONCLUSIONS: the Inventory was translated and adapted into Brazilian Portuguese, under the name of Inventário de Manejo dos Aprendidos for the Family (IMAAF) and has the potential to help in clinical practice to achieve effective use of individual sound amplification devices in the population of children with hearing impairment, in a perspective centered on the needs of their families.
OBJECTIVE: traduzir e adaptar transculturalmente o inventário Parent Hearing Aid Management Inventory para o português brasileiro.
UNASSIGNED: estudo do tipo metodológico, de adaptação transcultural, que seguiu as recomendações da literatura para a sua execução. Foram realizadas duas etapas e oito passos para a consecução da adaptação: obtenção de permissão dos autores; formação de um comitê de especialistas que atuaram em alguns dos passos para a validação da tradução, tradução por 2 tradutores proficientes, síntese das traduções e avaliação das equivalências, tradução reversa e síntese das mesmas, estudo piloto com 10 famílias para verificar-se a aplicabilidade do instrumento e síntese da versão final do instrumento.
RESULTS: foi aplicada a análise do kappa Cohen para a análise de concordância interavaliadores e o coeficiente de alfa de Cronbach para a análise de confiabilidade interna do instrumento. Após a aplicação com as famílias considerou-se o instrumento válido para avaliar as necessidades de orientação e apoio das famílias quanto ao manejo dos dispositivos auditivos na população de crianças com deficiência auditiva.
UNASSIGNED: o inventário foi traduzido e adaptado para o português brasileiro, sob o nome de Inventário de Manejo dos Aparelhos Auditivos pela Família (IMAAF) e tem o potencial de auxiliar na prática clínica para o alcance do uso efetivo dos aparelhos de amplificação sonora individual na população de crianças com deficiência auditiva, numa perspectiva centrada nas necessidades de suas famílias.

Focusing on a specific conversation amidst multiple interfering talkers is challenging, especially for those with hearing loss. Brain-controlled assistive hearing devices aim to alleviate this problem by enhancing the attended speech based on the listener\'s neural signals using auditory attention decoding (AAD). Departing from conventional AAD studies that relied on oversimplified scenarios with stationary talkers, a realistic AAD task that involves multiple talkers taking turns as they continuously move in space in background noise is presented. Invasive electroencephalography (iEEG) data are collected from three neurosurgical patients as they focused on one of the two moving conversations. An enhanced brain-controlled assistive hearing system that combines AAD and a binaural speaker-independent speech separation model is presented. The separation model unmixes talkers while preserving their spatial location and provides talker trajectories to the neural decoder to improve AAD accuracy. Subjective and objective evaluations show that the proposed system enhances speech intelligibility and facilitates conversation tracking while maintaining spatial cues and voice quality in challenging acoustic environments. This research demonstrates the potential of this approach in real-world scenarios and marks a significant step toward developing assistive hearing technologies that adapt to the intricate dynamics of everyday auditory experiences.

Music is an important signal class for hearing aids, and musical genre is often used as a descriptor for stimulus selection. However, little research has systematically investigated the acoustical properties of musical genres with respect to hearing aid amplification. Here, extracts from a combination of two comprehensive music databases were acoustically analyzed. Considerable overlap in acoustic descriptor space between genres emerged. By simulating hearing aid processing, it was shown that effects of amplification regarding dynamic range compression and spectral weighting differed across musical genres, underlining the critical role of systematic stimulus selection for research on music and hearing aids.

This study examined the influence of stimulus properties on sound externalization when listening with hearing aids. Normally hearing listeners were presented with broadband \"tokens\" (environmental sounds and speech) from loudspeakers, and rated externalization using a continuous scale. In separate blocks, they listened unaided or while wearing behind-the-ear hearing aids with closed domes and low gain (linear or compressive). There was a significant influence of token on ratings, even for unaided listening, and the effect of hearing aids depended on token. An acoustic analysis indicated that hearing aids were more likely to disrupt externalization for peakier sounds with a low-frequency emphasis.

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UNASSIGNED: Many children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) show poorer auditory word-learning skills than children with typical hearing (TH). The goal of this study was to test the effect of retrieval practice on word learning in children who are hard of hearing (HH).
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-six TH children and 16 children who are HH completed a speech perception and a vocabulary test, and a rapid word-learning game to learn new words under no retrieval, immediate retrieval, and spaced retrieval conditions.
UNASSIGNED: Linear mixed-effect models revealed that learning condition and time predicted 48% of the variance in word recognition, and age predicted 15% of word recall variance. We observed no differences in word recognition and recall between TH children and children who are HH. Children learned and remembered more words in the immediate and spaced retrieval practice conditions than in the no retrieval condition.
UNASSIGNED: Retrieval practice is more effective for word learning and retention than passive exposure (no retrieval). Clinical and educational practices for children who are DHH could combine explicit instruction using targeted exposures and retrieval of new words with naturalistic approaches. Future studies should assess retrieval practice in real-life interventions to inform clinical and educational practices.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric hearing loss can significantly impact speech, language, social, and educational development. Providing access to speech and environmental sounds using amplification devices, such as hearing aids, can help improve developmental outcomes. However, timely rehabilitation and intervention may be delayed due to limited access to resources, further prolonging the adverse effects of childhood hearing loss. The aim of this study was to investigate socioeconomic barriers in time to dispensing hearing aids in a diverse pediatric patient population.
METHODS: Data from an existing internal database from a tertiary pediatric hospital were analyzed from January 2020 through August 2022 for barriers associated with hearing aid (HA) dispensing delays. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained. Multivariate regression and survival analysis statistics were used to identify factors associated with delayed time to dispensing hearing aids.
RESULTS: Of the 121 patients who had been appropriately diagnosed and fit, 108 (89.3%) had received hearings aids and 13 (10.7%) had not at the time of the study. Of those who had received HA, time to dispensing was not significantly impacted by sex, race, ethnicity, language, or income level. Insurance was found to be an influencing factor in time to receiving the HA.
CONCLUSIONS: Factors such as insurance and hearing loss laterality contribute to delays in receiving hearing aids. Identifying these specific barriers and disparities in hearing rehabilitation services will prove vital in facilitating an expedited and equitable pathway to receiving hearing aids.
METHODS: 3 Laryngoscope, 2024.

There is broad consensus that listening effort is an important outcome for measuring hearing performance. However, there remains debate on the best ways to measure listening effort. This study sought to measure neural correlates of listening effort using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in experienced adult hearing aid users. The study evaluated impacts of amplification and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on cerebral blood oxygenation, with the expectation that easier listening conditions would be associated with less oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex. Thirty experienced adult hearing aid users repeated sentence-final words from low-context Revised Speech Perception in Noise Test sentences. Participants repeated words at a hard SNR (individual SNR-50) or easy SNR (individual SNR-50 + 10 dB), while wearing hearing aids fit to prescriptive targets or without wearing hearing aids. In addition to assessing listening accuracy and subjective listening effort, prefrontal blood oxygenation was measured using fNIRS. As expected, easier listening conditions (i.e., easy SNR, with hearing aids) led to better listening accuracy, lower subjective listening effort, and lower oxygenation across the entire prefrontal cortex compared to harder listening conditions. Listening accuracy and subjective listening effort were also significant predictors of oxygenation.

OBJECTIVE: The expansion of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids has raised inquiries regarding primary care physicians\' (PCP) knowledge, perspective, and perceived roles. We aimed to understand PCP perspectives on OTC hearing aids via nationwide online surveys.
METHODS: RedCap survey was distributed to PCPs via online forums and public mailing lists. Outcomes included PCPs\' attitudes toward, perceived role surrounding, confidence managing, and knowledge of OTC hearing aids. Regression analyses were performed to identify associated factors including demographics and practice characteristics.
RESULTS: Cohort included 111 PCPs primarily working in non-rural (83.8%) outpatient academic medical centers (47.5%), with a mean (SD) of 16.9 (11.6) years practicing. Most reported unfamiliarity (61.3%) with OTC hearing aids but viewed them positively (91.9%). They often perceived themselves as poor sources of OTC hearing aid information (63.1%) but desired involvement (90.1%) and believed associated knowledge is important (98.2%). Rural practice environment was associated with less familiarity toward OTC hearing aids (β = -0.72, [95% CI -1.40 to -0.04]). Respondents answered 5.0 (2.4) of 10 OTC hearing aid knowledge questions correctly. Using 5-point Likert scale, participants reported most confidence recognizing signs/symptoms of hearing loss 3.71 (0.84), but less confidence educating 1.68 (0.96) about and determining candidacy 1.72 (1.05) for OTC hearing aids. Participants reported continuing medical education courses and published guidelines would effectively improve their OTC hearing aid knowledge.
CONCLUSIONS: PCPs displayed positive attitudes toward OTC hearing aids and valued involvement. Addressing unfamiliarity/knowledge gaps surrounding OTC hearing aids through courses and published guidelines may help clarify misconceptions and promote hearing health care.
METHODS: NA Laryngoscope, 2024.

UNASSIGNED: This study examines the interactional management of hearing difficulties and hearing aids (HAs) in real-life, video-recorded social interactions with adults with hearing loss (HL) and their families/friends.
UNASSIGNED: 32 video-recordings in various social settings were analysed using Conversation Analysis.
UNASSIGNED: 20 adults with HL and their families/friends.
UNASSIGNED: HL and/or HAs did not typically become explicit in conversation. When adults with HL\' hearing difficulties did become explicit in the conversation, they were typically accompanied by laughter/humour. Sometimes the humour/laughter was initiated by the person with HL themselves (i.e. self-directed joking) but more frequently it was initiated by someone else within the conversation (i.e. a tease).
UNASSIGNED: The findings display the management of the \"to tell or not to tell\" dilemma in practice, and how humour was often used to lighten the tension when \"telling\" about HL and/or HAs. The findings also highlight that not all humour is equal: there are different outcomes for adults with HL depending on who initiated the humour/laughter within the context of the interaction. This study highlights stigma-in-action - how stigma related to HL and/or HAs is occasioned and managed within real-life social interactions.