Pursuing Analytically the Influence of Hearing Aid Use on Auditory Perception in Various Acoustic Situations

The paper presents the development of a method for assessing auditory perception and the effectiveness of applying hearing aids for hard-of-hearing people during short-term (up to 7 days) and longer-term (up to 3 months) use. The method consists of a survey based on the APHAB questionnaire. Additional criteria such as the degree of hearing loss, technological level of hearing aids used, as well as the user experience are taken into consideration. A web-based application is developed, allowing answering the survey questions from any computer with Internet access. The results of the benefit obtained from the use of hearing aids in various acoustic environments, taking into account the time of their use, are presented and compared to the earlier outcomes. The research results show that in the first period of use of hearing aids, speech perception improves, especially in noisy environments. The perception of unpleasant sounds also increases, which may lead to deterioration of hearing aid acceptance by their users.