REAL EAR MEASUREMENT RESULTS IN ADULTS: A REGIONAL ANALYSIS
1Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi, Odyoloji, Lefkoşe, Kuzey Kıbrıs TC2Istanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Göztepe Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Odyoloji, İstanbul, Türkiye
3İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz, İstanbul, Türkiye Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the reliability of Real Ear Measurement (REM) tests conducted by hearing aid sales and application centers during sales on adult patients recommended to use a hearing aid due to hearing loss.
Methodology: Adult patients, who required to use a hearing aid between November 2015 and June 2017, were provided the contact information of all hearing aid sales and application centers in the region and were asked to bring the REM test results of the hearing aid they preferred from the center they wanted. Totally 429 REM results delivered by patients were analyzed and examined whether device gain and output achieved the target set by the company. The gain / output suitability was determined as reaching the target gain with ± 10 dB deviation in 3 out of 4 frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz).
Results: REM reports of a total of 429 patients were evaluated. Patients delivered REM reports from 37 separate companies. According to reports, 66% of patients had the National Acoustic Laboratories-Nonlinear 1 (NAL NL1), 10% National Acoustic Laboratories-Nonlinear 2 (NAL NL2), and 21% Desired Sensation Level (DSL). One hundred twenty-one reports showed that the REM test was performed reliably in at least one stimulus level and devices met the target gain. Measurements of 75 patients were accurate at two or three separate stimulus levels (low, moderate and high stimulus). Approximately three out of four REM tests performed on patients were not up to standards.
Conclusion: Even though the results were obtained from a specific area, the fact that the tests performed by hearing aid sales and application centers having poor objectivity is an important problem that needs to be addressed. An important step to solve this problem would be to bring institutions and organizations together and define a common application and inspection standard.
Keywords : Real ear measurement, hearing aid, hearing aid application center