New collaborative project to evaluate existing hearing loss treatment

A new collaborative project between universities, hearing aid manufacturers and other experts will evaluate existing hearing loss treatment. The goal is to improve quality - to the delight of both hearing aid users and society.

If you suffer from hearing loss, a hearing aid can help. This seems simple enough, but unfortunately the reality can be very different. Every tenth person never properly benefits from hearing aids which then often end up in the drawer.

Now, a new, large collaborative project between the University of Southern Denmark, Aalborg University, the Technical University of Denmark, independent tech company DELTA, Danish hearing aid manufacturers Oticon, Widex and GN Resound and the university hospitals in Odense and Aalborg will improve quality so that people with hearing loss can get more out of hearing aids. The project BEAR (Better Hearing Rehabilitation) has a budget of DKK 50 million kroner (6.7 million euros); of that, the industry is contributing 15 million kroner while Innovation Fund Denmark is investing just under 29 million kroner in the project.

Imperfect basis

Today, if you have hearing problems, you can get a hearing test that results in an audiogram. An audiogram is a graph that shows how well you hear in individual frequency ranges. This is important knowledge when fitting and adjusting hearing aids, but often much more information is needed for someone to fully benefit from hearing aids.

"The audiogram is a simplistic description of how your hearing works. You can have normal hearing thresholds, but, for example, find it difficult to understand what is being said when many people are talking in the same room," explains Project Manager Dorte Hammershøi, Professor in the Department of Electronic Systems at Aalborg University.

Today we adjust hearing aids almost exclusively using audiograms, and that means that many important parameters do not get enough focus, for example, the ability to distinguish speech in noise. The actual hearing aid fitting and adjustment and advice on using it are also likely to play a role in acceptance and satisfaction. The project also addresses these aspects.

The right tools

The problem of customizing hearing aids has been known for many years, and there are many alternative ways to conduct hearing tests. Among other things, there is a test where one must recognize words that are said in different kinds of background noise. By its very nature, this provides a clearer picture of how well hearing is working.

"The reason we are so focused on audiograms is that right now we can't put our finger on a specific measurement and say: that's the test that could enable us to adjust hearing aids better. There are a whole battery of various tests and examinations, but they take time and may require special equipment or training. That is why we need to find out which methods work best," explains Dorte Hammershøi.

Better use of resources

The goal of BEAR is to identify new knowledge that will be used as the basis for new standards for better hearing aid fitting and adjustment and follow-up treatment so that hearing aid users get the most out of their hearing aids.

Every year in Denmark around 130,000 hearing aids are customized. This alone costs the state a good 400 million kroner in subsidies.

At the same time, a 2006 study by the Danish National Center for Social Research estimates that production losses due to untreated hearing loss among working individuals costs society 2.7 billion kroner each year.

Projekt Partners

• University of Southern Denmark, Ture Damann Andersen, Associate Professor, Chief Physician, +45 2049 1958
• Aalborg University, Dorte Hammershøi, PhD, Professor (Project Manager), +45 9940 8705
• Technical University of Denmark, Torsten Dau, Dr.rer.nat.habil., Professor, +45 4525 3977
• Odense University Hospital, Rikke Schnack-Petersen, Chief Physician +45 6541 2536
• Aalborg University Hospital, Michael Gaihede, PhD, Chief Physician, Associate Professor, +45 9766 2728
• DELTA, 5000, Gert Ravn, Senior Technology Specialist, +45 7219 4102
• Oticon A/S, 2765, Katrine Hertz Østergaard, PR & Communications Director, +45 2095 2530
• GN Resound A/S, Steen Frentz Laursen, VP Group Communication, +45 2065 3420
• Widex A/S, Jeanette Blom, Group Communication Manager, +45 2675 3853

Facts

• Innovation Fund Denmark investment: DKK 28,921,500
  Total project budget: DKK 50,232,250
  Duration of the project: 5 years
  Project's official title: Better Hearing Rehabilitation - BEAR