Self-fit over-the-counter hearing aids provide long-term advantage: JAMA

A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association showed that self-fit over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids might be a useful long-term therapeutic strategy for the individuals with low to moderate loss of hearing.

OTC hearing aids have long been utilized as a replacement for the more conventional method of purchasing them from hearing health care providers. They are immediately available to consumers without the need for professional consultation or fitting. Despite the novelty of self-fitting over-the-counter hearing aids, there are still serious industry concerns about their long-term viability and effectiveness in the absence of continuing, direct assistance from audiologists. To assess the long-term self-reported results after eight months of self-fit OTC hearing aids to the identical hearing aids fitted by audiologists, Karina De Sousa and colleagues undertook this study.

This research reevaluated many of the initial participants who were not lost to follow-up, building on a prior randomized clinical trial. The original split of the participants was between the individuals who used audiologist-fitted devices and the individuals who used self-fit OTC hearing aids. After fitting, the participants answered self-reported surveys for around eight months. From April to August of 2022, the University of Pretoria in South Africa hosted the first noninferiority study. The same hearing aids fitted using best practices by a qualified audiologist were given to the audiologist-fit device group. The Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) were used to evaluate the primary outcomes, which were self-reported hearing aid benefit.

They key insights of this study were:

A total of 44 trial participants out of 64 were incorporated in the follow-up study where these individuals were 63.0 (13.2) years old on average (SD), with 21 (47.7%) being male.

The APHAB global score and the IOI-HA total score did not significantly differ between the self-fit and audiologist-fit groups at the long-term follow-up.

For the APHAB global score, there was no clinically significant group-time interaction between the groups from 6 weeks to 8 months. However, there was a significant interaction for the IOI-HA total score, with the self-fit group typically performing better.

Overall, for the individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss, self-fit over-the-counter aids can provide similar long-term advantages compared to the individuals fitted by audiologists.

Source:

De Sousa, K. C., Manchaiah, V., Moore, D. R., Graham, M. A., & Swanepoel, D. W. (2024). Long-Term Outcomes of Self-Fit vs Audiologist-Fit Hearing Aids. In JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2024.1825