Fine-tuning may be undertaken at the time of the initial hearing aid fitting, or, more commonly, after the patient has had the opportunity to wear the hearing aids in daily life. 9 As a result, hearing aids often need to be fine-tuned by the provider to ensure optimal and satisfactory speech understanding, sound quality, and comfort in a range of acoustic environments. 8 While the most widely used formulas have been empirically validated, they yield hearing aid settings that address the needs of the average patient, which are not necessarily preferred by the individual. 6, 7 Hearing aids are fit to individual patients' needs by applying a prescriptive formula to their hearing thresholds. 2, 3 Hearing aids are the most common form of rehabilitation provided to adults with hearing loss and are a cost-effective intervention 4, 5 that reduce activity limitations and participation restrictions and improve health-related quality of life. Hearing loss, a disorder of the ear characterized by a reduction in auditory sensitivity, is the most prevalent sensory impairment 1 and the third leading contributor to years lived with disability worldwide. There was no significant difference in hearing aid outcomes between intervention and control participants.Ĭonclusions: Apps enabling remote patient-provider communication are a viable method for hearing aid users to seek and receive help with hearing aid problems that can be addressed through fine-tuning. However, almost half the requests received via ReSound Assist were for problems that required advice from the provider or physical modifications to the hearing aids rather than fine-tuning, highlighting the continued importance of in-person hearing health care. Similar problems were reported by intervention and control participants regardless of communication mode (app-based vs. Participants identified specific aspects of effectiveness and efficiency that could be improved. Results: ReSound Assist was rated as highly usable. Hearing aid performance, benefit, satisfaction, and daily usage were compared for both groups. Usability of ReSound Assist was assessed with a questionnaire and interview. During a 6-week field trial, participants reported hearing aid problems via ReSound Assist (intervention) or at a scheduled face-to-face follow-up appointment (control). Materials and Methods: Thirty adults were fit bilaterally with hearing aids and randomized to intervention and control groups. Introduction: We assessed the usability of ReSound Assist™, (ReSound America, Bloomington, MN) the remote communication feature of a hearing aid app, and investigated whether hearing aid outcomes are influenced by app-based versus in-person patient-provider communication. A smartphone app that enables patients to remotely request and receive new hearing aid settings could improve hearing health care access and efficiency. Background: Patients often need multiple fine-tuning appointments with their hearing health care provider to achieve satisfactory hearing aid outcomes.
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