Finally, Successful Telephone Use: A Case Study

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Patient S.B. is a 90-year-old female with bilateral asymmetrical flat moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss and poor word recognition ability in quiet (see Fig. [1] for audiometric configuration). She had experienced a high level of frustration with telephone use throughout the 11 years she has been seen in our hearing center. Her difficulties were due in part to a combination of her reduced ability to recognize words and distorting telephone equipment. Furthermore, she had not adopted recommendations regarding readjustment of the hearing aid volume control, activation of the telecoil, and proper placement of the phone over her hearing aid when using the phone with behind-the-ear models. These difficulties have been exacerbated by a transition from behind-the-ear, to in-the-ear, and back to behind-the-ear hearing aids over the years.

Figure 1 Audiometric results for patient S.B. Air conduction pure tone results obtained with insert earphones. O, right ear; X, left ear.