Evaluation of non-linear frequency compression hearing aids using speech P1-cortical auditory evoked potential
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Hearing, Balance and Communication 2015; Early Online: 1–8Abstract: Objective: To investigate the potential effects of frequency lowering technology on outcome measures of hearing aid effi cacy.
The detection of mid- and high-frequency syllables in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) fi tted with
non-linear frequency compression (NLFC) hearing aids was studied using speech P1 cortical auditory evoked potentials
(CAEP). Study design: Thirty Arabic speaking children with bilateral high frequency SNH and with a history of regular
binaural hearing aid use were included. All children were fi tted with binaural Phonak Naida III UP with a NLFC feature.
Verifi cation of NLFC was achieved through aided sound fi eld testing and aided speech P1-CAEP recordings. Aided
P1-CAEPs were elicited using synthetic speech stimuli ‘ da ’ and ‘ ga ’ . Fifteen age-matched normal hearing children served
as a control group to provide a reference of typically maturing CAEPs without the infl uence of hearing impairment. Results:
NLFC improved aided thresholds in the mid and high frequencies. No statistically signifi cant difference existed between
the control and study group in their CAEP responses to the ‘ ga ’ stimulus in both NLFC-disabled/enabled conditions. The
‘ da ’ stimulus elicited P1-CAEP in only 27% of the study group with the NLFC disabled condition; this increased to
83% with activation of NLFC. The P1-CAEP latency of the study group was prolonged compared to children of the control
group for both stimuli. The presence of P1-CAEP to both ‘ ga ’ and ‘ da ’ stimuli was signifi cantly negatively correlated
with the age of the child, duration of hearing loss, and duration of hearing aid use. Conclusion: The NLFC signifi cantly
improved the audibility of high frequency sounds for children with severe high frequency SNHL. Speech P1-CAEP can
be used as an objective validation tool in children to evaluate the benefi t from NLFC especially when behavioural aided
thresholds are diffi cult to obtain.
Objective: To investigate the potential effects of frequency lowering technology on outcome measures of hearing aid effi cacy.
The detection of mid- and high-frequency syllables in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) fi tted with
non-linear frequency compression (NLFC) hearing aids was studied using speech P1 cortical auditory evoked potentials
(CAEP). Study design: Thirty Arabic speaking children with bilateral high frequency SNH and with a history of regular
binaural hearing aid use were included. All children were fi tted with binaural Phonak Naida III UP with a NLFC feature.
Verifi cation of NLFC was achieved through aided sound fi eld testing and aided speech P1-CAEP recordings. Aided
P1-CAEPs were elicited using synthetic speech stimuli ‘ da ’ and ‘ ga ’ . Fifteen age-matched normal hearing children served
as a control group to provide a reference of typically maturing CAEPs without the infl uence of hearing impairment. Results:
NLFC improved aided thresholds in the mid and high frequencies. No statistically signifi cant difference existed between
the control and study group in their CAEP responses to the ‘ ga ’ stimulus in both NLFC-disabled/enabled conditions. The
‘ da ’ stimulus elicited P1-CAEP in only 27% of the study group with the NLFC disabled condition; this increased to
83% with activation of NLFC. The P1-CAEP latency of the study group was prolonged compared to children of the control
group for both stimuli. The presence of P1-CAEP to both ‘ ga ’ and ‘ da ’ stimuli was signifi cantly negatively correlated
with the age of the child, duration of hearing loss, and duration of hearing aid use. Conclusion: The NLFC signifi cantly
improved the audibility of high frequency sounds for children with severe high frequency SNHL. Speech P1-CAEP can
be used as an objective validation tool in children to evaluate the benefi t from NLFC especially when behavioural aided
thresholds are diffi cult to obtain.