Effectiveness of a programable body-worn digital hearing aid for older adults in a developing country: a randomized controlled trial with a cross-over design.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hearing aids are important assistive devices for hearing rehabilitation. However, the cost of commonly available commercial hearing aids is often higher than the average monthly income of individuals in some developing countries. Therefore, there is a great need to locally produce cheaper, but still effective, hearing aids. The Thai-produced P02 hearing aid was designed to meet this requirement.

Objective

To compare the effectiveness of the P02 hearing aid with two common commercially available digital hearing aids (Clip-II™ and Concerto Basic®).

Methods

A prospective, randomized controlled trial with a cross-over design was conducted from October 2012 to September 2014 in a rural Thai community. There were 73 participants (mean age of 73.7 ± 7.3 years) inc

SUBMITTER: Kasemsiri P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8299624 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature