Article
Hearing aids with custom ear molds as medical devices and hearing protectors
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Published: | September 3, 2020 |
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Outline
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Hearing aids can amplify sounds to compensate for a hearing loss. Other features such as loudness compression and an output limiter allow for an amplification of soft sounds and a reduction of loud sounds. Therefore, hearing aids in conjunction with custom moulded earplugs can basically also act as hearing protectors [1]. However, in this case, all requirements on hearing protectors as personal protective equipment (PPE) apply. One main requirement is the minimum sound attenuation of the hearing protector. The other important requirement is that the exposure limit value at the user's ear must not exceed 85 dB(A) at the workplace, also in active mode.
In this work, we propose a new assessment procedure how hearing aids can be used as hearing protectors. This includes a separate homologation of the hearing aids and custom moulded earplugs. Moreover, procedures are defined how the hearing aid professional individually verifies the function as hearing protector and hearing aid. This includes real ear measurements to test the exposure limit value of 85 dB(A) and speech tests to check the functionality as a hearing aid. Finally, measurement results of 10 test subjects are presented which depict the application of the procedure in practice and verify the concept.
References
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- Schröder J, Tchorz J, Husstedt H. Dämmwirkung einer Lärmschutzotoplastik mit Hörgerät für verschiedene Hörgeräteeinstellungen. In: 20. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie; 2017 Feb 22-25; Aalen, Germany.