Question
What should I do if I cannot measure and RECD and need to fit a child with hearing aids?
Answer
In applications of DSL v5, there are age-appropriate predicted RECD values. These have been updated since DSL v4.1. The updated values are for foam tip and earmold coupling and are provided in one-month age increments. However, it is important to note that while these values are more accurate than using average adult RECD predictions, large variability exists in the data making the predictions less than ideal. For example, at some frequencies, the differences range from ±12 dB. Therefore, it is recommended that individual measurements of RECD be obtained whenever possible. In cases where it is unobtainable, more precise RECD predictions are now available. (See Bagatto et al., 2002 and Bagatto et al., 2005 for more details.)
This Ask The Expert Question was taken from an article previous published on Audiology Online entitled, "Learning the Art to Apply the Science: Common Questions Related to Pediatric Hearing Instrument Fitting". See Bagatto and Moodie (2007) for additional information.
References:
Bagatto, M., Moodie, S., (2007, October 8). Learning the Art to Apply the Science: Common Questions Related to Pediatric Hearing Instrument Fitting. Audiology Online, Article 1886. Accessed from the Article Archives from www.audiologyonline.com/articles
Bagatto, M., Moodie, S., Scollie, S., Seewald, R., Moodie, K., Pumford, J., & Liu, R. (2005). Clinical protocols for hearing instrument fitting in the Desired Sensation Level Method. Trends in Amplification, 9(4), 199-226.
Bagatto, M.P., Scollie, S.D., Seewald, R.C., Moodie, K.S., & Hoover, B.M. (2002). Real-ear-to-coupler difference predictions as a function of age for two coupling procedures. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 13, 407-415.
Marlene Bagatto, Au.D., is a Research Associate and Sheila T. F. Moodie, M.Cl.Sc., is a Research Audiologist at the National Centre for Audiology at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.
