Acoustic Coupler Effects on Speech Audiometric Scores using a CROS Hearing Aid

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Abstract
A CROS hearing aid was utilized with four different acoustic couplers to obtain spondee thresholds and speech discrimination scores from three groups of hearing-impaired subjects. Couplers employed were conventional and modified types (vented, open, and crimped polyethylene tubing). Results indicated that the conductives obtained better mean aided spondee thresholds with the conventional earmold than with the modified acoustic couplers, whereas speech discrimination scores showed essentially no intercoupler differences. The mean aided spondee thresholds of the sensorineural group with a precipitous high-frequency drop were essentially the same under all coupling conditions, whereas discrimination was markedly improved with the modified couplers as opposed to the conventional earmold. The sensorineural group with gradually sloping audiometric configurations obtained better aided spondee thresholds with the conventional earmold, whereas discrimination was improved with the modified couplers.

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