An Assessment of Telecoil Benefit: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Patients with hearing loss often experience a decreased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), resulting in an increased difficulty to understand speech in noise, which can negatively impact their quality of life (Dillon, 2012). An induction loop or hearing loop is one type of assistive listening system that improves the signal to noise ratio at the ear level of the user by using an electromagnetic field. Hearing loops are commonly preferred by patients as they do not require the use of any additional device. However, there is currently limited research supporting the benefit of using hearing loops/telecoils in a classroom setting. The purpose of this audiology doctoral project was to measure the benefits of looping in a university classroom under ecological conditions for adults with hearing loss. This project was separated into three phases. The first phase was comprised of verifying a university classroom loop (installed in Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences Building, room 409, summer 2019) to international quality standards (IEC 60118-4). The second phase included facilitating two focus groups with the local hearing loss support group. Using the approach of patient-centered outcomes research, the third phase included subjective and behavioral assessments in a looped classroom. Results revealed that, on average, participants had better speech perception scores as measured by the AZBio sentences in the t-coil conditions than in the non-t-coil conditions. Additionally, participants, on average, reported reduced temporal demand and increased performance when using the t-coil as measured by the NASA Task Load Index.