RECD OME
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identification of benefits from hearing aids fitted using customised and predicted real-ear to coupler difference measures in children with Otitis Media with Effusion: a feasibility study.
IRAS ID
246514
Contact name
Melanie Ferguson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
Hearing aids are offered as a treatment option for otitis media with effusion (OME). When fitting hearing aids, real-ear measurements are used to ensure the hearing aid is accurately fitted. Within the paediatric population real-ear-to-coupler-difference (RECD) measurements are more routinely employed. These measurements are important as they measure how a hearing aid’s intensity and frequency response are affected by the individual’s ear, referred to as a customised measurement. Alternatively the hearing aid fitting can be based on averaged size and shaped ears, known as a predicted RECD measurements.
OME increases the stiffness of the middle ear, this increased stiffness causes sound pressure level within the ear canal to rise. A more positive RECD is subsequently generated, and therefore less hearing aid gain will be prescribed. This may result in reduced speech recognition thresholds. We want to find out how hearing aid gain and subsequent speech recognition thresholds differ when using both measures in children, aged 4 to 7 years, with OME.
This study is a small-scale study to establish if a larger study is feasible, recruiting patients from a single site from the Children's Hearing Assessment Centre, Nottingham.
Study Design: Single centre feasibility crossover design.
Duration of the study: 3 months
Methods: Repeated quantitative measures; Phase 1 Eligibility and recruitment, Phase 2 Suitability to continue to with study, and Phase 3 Hearing Aid programming and aided assessment.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0594
Date of REC Opinion
15 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion