Support for "hearing difficulty" in children with unilateral deafness

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K04939
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Special needs education
• Research Institution: Ehime University
• Principal Investigator: Tachiiri Hajime 愛媛大学, 教育学部, 教授 (90294777)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 一側性難聴 / 補聴器 / CROS補聴器 / 音源定位 / 方向感

Outline of Final Research Achievements

For the new concept CROS hearing aid "EHIME", we conducted a sound source localization test and a questionnaire survey for people with unilateral deafness. By wearing EHIME, localization became even more difficult, and as a result of analysis of the output by the simulated ear, it was shown that the localization could be performed using the sound via the hearing aid, which the wearer describes as "machine sound", as a clue. In the questionnaire survey, unilateral deafness had items that they wanted to solve in all 12 items. By wearing EHIME, the localization was temporarily inferior, but it was improved by learning to listen to the sound through the hearing aid, and from the questionnaire survey, it was found that the comfort by improving the hearing outweighed the troublesomeness by wearing.

Free Research Field

教育オーディオロジー

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

一側性難聴者は日常生活の中で様々な困難を抱えており、これらを新発想CROS補聴器「EHIME」の装用によって解決できないかと研究を行った。音源定位の困難に対して、EHIME装用者は補聴器増幅音に気付く学習をすることで、定位の向上につながった。また、雑音下聴取でも補聴器装用側の聴取向上につながることもわかった。一方、補聴器を装用することによるわずらわしさと聞こえの向上の快適さという主観的評価を行ったところ、わずらわしさより快適さが上回った。

このことから、CROS補聴器の導入にあたっては独特な音源定位の学習が必要であり、CROS補聴器の継続・中断には学習時間の確保が必要であることを明らかにした。