Análise dos benefícios de dispositivos eletrônicos para audição por meio da comparação entre a utilização de regras prescritivas proprietárias e validadas em idosos

Abstract

Introduction: For the process of auditory rehabilitation of people with presbycusis, the use of electronic devices for hearing is necessary and, consequently, care protocols must be adopted to guide and conduct quality care and provide effective verification and validation, facilitating and minimizing complaints that may appear in the adaptation phase, guaranteeing users greater comfort and quality of life. Prescriptive rules should be part of these protocols with the objective of amplifying the impaired frequency ranges (compensation for hearing loss), improving audibility, intelligibility and providing comfort for the user. Every hearing aid manufacturing company suggests its own rules (however, not validated due to its specificities at the factory), leaving the professionals to choose the best use for each patient. On the other hand, there are validated prescriptive rules that were designed to calculate the gain per frequency. They are based on selective amplification which, in a simple way, can be defined as the manipulation of the frequency response, regardless of brand and model, to obtain an ideal performance, guaranteeing audibility and comfort for the client. As an object of study, the research will cite the two rules most used today: the method in the updated version Desired Sensation Level (DSL v5.0), and the prescriptive rule of the National Acustic Laboratories (NAL – NL2). Objective: to analyze the benefits of electronic devices for hearing (AED) by comparing the use of proprietary and validated prescriptive rules in the elderly,. Method: this is a quantitative observational study, carried out at the Hearing Health Reference Center of the Clinical School of Speech Therapy at PUC Goiás, in the city of Goiânia. The sample will consist of 30 (thirty) participants of both genders, aged over 60 years, who have bilateral sensory neuro hearing loss and use an electronic hearing device provided by the SUS/CRESA PUC system. Results: A significant change in satisfaction levels was found, mainly in the amplification provided by AED for the elderly, considering all degrees of hearing loss at most frequencies, for different intensities of input sounds, and when verification is carried out with a probe microphone, evidenced by the comparison between the proprietary prescriptive rules and those validated according to the data obtained in the domains collected in the application of the first and second self-assessment questionnaires. Conclusion: The study highlighted the need to alleviate common complaints and suffering in the adaptation phase of AED in the elderly, with the use of protocols and processes for verifying and validating electroacoustic characteristics based on validated prescriptive rules, ensuring adequate amplification, the continuous and comfortable use of devices, in addition to improving the quality of daily life.

Keywords: Elderly; Hearing Aid; Prescriptive Rules; Self-Assessment Questionnaire