Overview
The goal of this clinical study is to investigate the benefits of hearing instrument use in adults with hearing loss. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Does hearing instrument use improve speech understanding and listening effort amount people with hearing loss? Researchers will compare varying models of hearing instruments to see how speech understanding and listening effort are impacted.
Participants will be asked to wearing varying hearing instruments and participate in lab-based activities to evaluate their speech understanding, listening effort, and subjective preference.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adult 18-95 years
- N3 or N4 hearing loss
- Experienced hearing aid user
- English fluency
- Cognitively able to complete complex listening tasks
Exclusion Criteria:
- Outside of specified age range
- Vulnerable populations
- Hearing within normal limits or otherwise not appropriate for hearing instruments under study
- Inability to read, write, or speak English
- Inability to complete complex listening tasks
