Effect of output limiting levels upon the speech perception skills of congenitally hearing impaired adolescents

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of different output-limiting levels on the speech-perception skills of three severely hearing-impaired adolescents. It also explored the impact of reducing SSPL settings on aided sound-field thresholds and hearing-aid gain. AGCo settings were gradually decreased using the participant's own programmable hearing aids. At each SSPL setting, speech perception was measured in quiet using a computer based 50- item CNC word test. Changes in aided sound-field thresholds, gain, and SPLograms were also measured. Speech-perception scores decreased with reductions in SSPL settings, with the most marked deterioration occurring at the lowest SSPL settings. Inspect..