Study Design
sensorineural, hearing amplification, tinnitus, Hearing impairment, hearing loss
SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS, ADVERSE EVENTS, TINNITUS, HEARING IMPAIRMENT, HEARING LOSS
A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted at 2 tertiary hospitals in South Korea (the Department of Otolaryngology, Seoul National University Hospital and the Department of Otolaryngology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital) from August 2020 to November 2022. The inclusion criteria were (1) acquired symmetrical, sensorineural, and mild-to-moderate hearing loss; (2) current use of a smartphone; and (3) no previous experience with hearing amplification. Mild and moderate hearing loss ranged from the 26- to 40-db hearing level and from the 41- to 55-dB hearing level, respectively (according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) [To identify sensorineural hearing loss, otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry (PTA) by air and bone conduction, and tympanometry were performed. All participants visited 4 times and all tests were conducted in a sound-treated room. At the first visit, demographic assessment, otoscopy, tympanogram, tinnitogram, PTA, and speech audiometry were conducted. At the second visit, the participants who passed the screening test were enrolled; otoscopy, sound-field unaided and aided PTA, and WRS testing were performed; and our questionnaire was completed. At this time, the participants were randomly given their first hearing amplification to use for 2 months. At the 2-month visit, the same tests were conducted except for unaided PTA and WRS testing. The hearing amplification method was then switched to be used for another 2 months. At the final visit, participants completed the same tests as in the previous visit. Hearing impairment (>20-dB change in 1 frequency, >10-dB change in 2 consecutive frequencies, or >5-dB change in 3 consecutive frequencies) and tinnitus (>1 mo for at least 8 h/d) were considered adverse events in this study.