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20Q: Gaining New Insights about Directional Hearing Aid Performance

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1.  Aside from FM systems, what is the only other hearing aid technology that can improve speech understanding in background noise?
  1. impulse noise reduction
  2. directional microphones
  3. data logging
  4. Libby horns
2.  A graph that shows the response of a hearing aid as a function of angle is a:
  1. frequency response
  2. SSPL90 curve
  3. polar plot
  4. Mueller cosmograph
3.  A problem with measuring today’s directional systems with a traditional polar plot via presenting the stimulus sequentially from fixed angles is:
  1. it results in inaccuracies when used to measure dynamic, adaptive systems
  2. these types of polar plots are extremely expensive to obtain
  3. this type of method can only be used with BTE style hearing instruments
  4. all of the above
4.  In order for a clinician to verify the performance of a directional system in the office, she should:
  1. purchase an anechoic chamber
  2. ask the patient if it seems to be working
  3. use a hearing aid test box
  4. run a test on Kemar
5.  Which of the following statements is true in regard to directional benefit?
  1. there are no studies showing directional benefit in real world environments
  2. there are no studies showing directional benefit in laboratory environments
  3. in general, studies have shown a greater directional benefit in laboratory environments relative to real world benefits
  4. in general, studies have shown that directional microphone benefit approximates that of an FM system in real world environments
6.  In one real world study (Wu, 2010), older listeners:
  1. perceived less directional benefit than younger listeners
  2. perceived more directional benefit than younger listeners
  3. were in noisier social situations than younger listeners
  4. perceived a directional disadvantage (directional mode worse than omni mode)
7.  In a study of directional benefit and visual cues:
  1. people with better lipreading skills had less directional benefit
  2. people with better lipreading skills had more directional benefit
  3. directional benefit was highest in the auditory-visual condition
  4. directional benefit was highest in low SNRs
8.  In a study of directional algorithms that can provide backward facing directionality:
  1. the backward facing directional mode never engaged and the system always employed an omnidirectional response
  2. the backward facing directional mode never disengaged back to omnidirectional mode when the test sentences were concluded
  3. the listener’s voice caused the system to revert to an omnidirectional mode when no carrier phrase was used on the test sentences
  4. the conclusion was that such systems work best during real world conversation where there is a quick back and forth exchange between listener and conversational partner
9.  A limitation of current questionnaires regarding directional benefit is:
  1. they are not normed on people with hearing los
  2. they are written for a reading age of college and above
  3. they do not provide enough detailed information about listening situations, such as exact location of speaker and listener
  4. they take too long to administer and thus are not practical for clinical use
10.  What of the following is the most logical conclusion about hearing aid directional technology that the reader can make from this article?
  1. directional technology shows promise but there is no benefit in the real world.
  2. there is a discrepancy between benefit shown with hearing aid directional technology in the laboratory v. real world situations
  3. there is no evidence supporting the use of directional hearing aid technology for patients, but it causes no harm so you should try it on all patients anyway
  4. Dr. Wu should throw in the towel and study noise reduction, which has more potential for improving speech intelligibility in real world noisy environments based on current research.