Impact of hearing aid use in individuals with unilateral sensory hearing impairments

Unilateral sensory hearing loss poses particular hearing difficulty for individuals in the way of reduced localization of sound and understanding speech in the presence of background noise. At present it is not clear in the published literature whether conventional hearing aids help individuals with this kind of impairment. To assess this we evaluated the speech perception in noise and hearing handicap outcome of 22 individuals dispensed a hearing aid for a three month field trial. Our results were found to be consistent with distinct improvements in speech perception in noise, as measured by the Quick speech in noise test (QuickSIN), presented at 0 and 45 degrees azimuth, with speech and noise spatially separated in sound field, with and without a hearing aid. Also, we noted reduced selfperceived hearing handicap in these individuals, as measured by the abbreviated profile of hearing aid benefit (APHAB) questionnaire.