Around 28-30% of hearing aid wearers cite occlusion as the main source of dissatisfaction with their hearing instrument (Kochkin, 2000; Dillon et al 1999). The common complaints of “my voice sounds peculiar” and “I have to take my hearing aids out when I eat” are heard all too frequently.
GN ReSound pioneered the development of true open fittings and with it the development of occlusion free listening without compromising high frequency gain. This ground breaking technology is now available to the NHS for the first time in Danalogic 6.
Danalogic 6’s Twin Digital Feedback Suppression effectively cancels out feedback without gain reductions. This is achieved by phase-cancellation of the feedback and only the feedback. Two independent feedback cancellers are employed – one for each of the microphones. An extra 10 dB to 15 dB gain can be expected.
For more detailed information about open fitting including white papers and clinical trials based on other GN ReSound products utilising the same technology as Danalogic 6, please visit www.openfitting.com
References
1. Dillon H, Birtles G & Lovegrove R: Measuring the outcomes of a national rehabilitation program: Normative data for the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI) and the Hearing Aid User’s Questionnaire (HAUQ). J Am Acad Audiol 1999; 10: 67-79.
2. Kochkin S: MarkeTrak V: “Why my hearing aids are in the drawer”: The Consumers’ Perspective. Hear Jour 2000; 53: 34-42.
Advantages of Open Fittings:
- 1. Better sound quality of the hearing aid users own voice - (Kuk, 1991; MacKenzie et al, 1989; Kampe & Wynne, 1996; Courtois, 1988)
- 2. Reduced gain at low frequencies for patients with good low frequency hearing - (McDonald & Studebaker, 1970; Studebaker & Zachman, 1969; Dillon, 2001)
- 3. Improved speech intelligibility - (Cox & Alexander, 1983)
- 4. Improved localization - (Noble et al, 1998; Byrne et al, 1998;)
- 5. Improved physical comfort - (MacKenzie et al, 1989)
- 6. Reduced risk of external ear irritation and infection - (Courtois, 1988)
