A randomized controlled comparison of NAL and DSL prescriptions for young children: Hearing-aid characteristics and performance outcomes at three years of age
Date
2013Author
Ching, Teresa
Dillon, Harvey
Hou, Sanna
Zhang, Vicky
Zhang, Vicky
Day, Julia
Crowe, Kathryn
Crowe, Kathryn
Marnane, Vivienne
Street, Laura
Street, Laura
Van Buynder, Patricia
Flynn, Christopher
Thomson, Jessica
Thomson, Jessica
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objective—To determine the influence of choice of prescription and other child-, family- and
intervention-related factors on speech, language, and functional performance of hearing-impaired
children by three years of age.
Design and study sample—A randomized controlled design was implemented as part of a
population-based, longitudinal study on outcomes of children with hearing impairment (LOCHI)
in Australia. Two hundred and eighteen children were randomly assigned to either the NAL or the
DSL prescription for first fitting of hearing aids. Their performance outcomes were evaluated.
Results—Prescriptive targets were closely matched in children's hearing aids. There were not
significant differences in children's language, speech production, or functional performance
between prescriptions. Parents' ratings of children's device usage and loudness discomfort were
not significantly different between prescription groups. Functional performance within the first
year of fitting together with degree of hearing loss, presence of additional disabilities, and
maternal education explained 44% of variation in language ability of children by three years of
age.
Conclusions—There was no significant association between choice of hearing-aid prescription
and variance in children's outcomes at three years of age. In contrast, additional disability,
maternal educational level, and early functional performance were significant predictive factors of
children's outcomes.