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Hearing Ecosystems: How Hearing Professionals Can Meet the Needs of Today's Hearing Aid Users

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1.  What is meant by a hearing aid ecosystem? Eco-friendly hearing aids Rechargeable hearing aids Wireless hearing aid programming An interconnected system of components including wireless accessories, smartphone connections, and apps working together with the hearing aids

2.  Which of the following is not a challenge that limits the performance of hearing aids in everyday environments? Battery power Reverberation Distance Signal-to-noise ratio

3.  What are some factors that limit widespread use of FM systems? They are expensive They require receivers to be attached to the hearing aids The technology is susceptible to interference and does not provide privacy of transmission All of the above

4.  How much can a wireless remote microphone improve signal-to-noise ratio? More than 10 dB It does not improve signal-to-noise ratio Improvement depends on distance to the signal It depends on the level of the person's voice speaking into the microphone

5.  Why is wireless streaming of phone calls beneficial to hearing aid users? It is safer when driving Many hearing aid users struggle to use the phone acoustically Direct transmission of the phone signal to the hearing aids provides the best signal-to-noise ratio B and C

6.  Smith and Davis (2014) found: Hearing aid users require a great deal of support to use wireless hearing aid accessories Hearing aid users are unwilling to pay extra for wireless hearing aid accessories Only users with severe-to-profound hearing losses benefit from using wireless hearing aid accessories Significant improvements on a variety of outcome measures when hearing aid users were issued wireless hearing aid accessories to use with their hearing aids

7.  Compared to using the phone acoustically on one ear, how much improvement in speech understanding was observed for persons with severe-to-profound hearing loss when using a video chat app and bilateral streaming of audio to the hearing aids? Approximately 70% higher speech recognition Less improvement with a Bluetooth Phone accessory for the audio streaming than with Made for iPhone audio streaming 40% higher speech recognition No improvement

8.  A hearing aid user cannot hear other people in the car when driving to be able to carry on a conversation. What component of the hearing aid ecosystem could help? Hearing aid directional microphones that can point the directional beam forward or backward A wireless remote microphone that the conversation partner wears A smartphone remote control app for the hearing aids to adjust volume A smartphone app that increases noise reduction in the car

9.  A hearing aid user would like to watch TV in bed without disturbing his wife while she reads or sleeps. What hearing aid ecosystem component could help? A streamer for the TV that transmits to the hearing aids would allow him to listen at his level with the sound turned down or even muted for others. Bluetooth headphones worn over the hearing aids Streaming apps on a smart TV Move the TV closer and transmit the sound from one hearing aid to the other with ear-to-ear streaming

10.  It is estimated that 70-80% of hearing aid owners do not know: What size batteries they need for their hearing aids About wireless hearing aid accessories and their benefits Whether wireless hearing accessories will work with their hearing aids B and C