Biomedical subjects

M Eriksson-Mangold

Publications and source records attributed to M Eriksson-Mangold.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Psychometric evaluation of a Swedish version of the communication strategies scale of the communication profile for the hearing impaired.

The Communication Strategies scale of the Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI) was translated into Swedish and used in several studies of people with hearing impairment (Hallberg & Carlsson, in press; Hallberg, Erlandsson, & Carlsson, 1991). In this study the scale was evaluated in terms of descriptive statistics, corrected item-total correlations, principal component analysis, and internal consistency reliability. Agreement with results from American studies is surprisingly good. Normative data based on three samples are presented: a general Swedish hearing-impaired sample with predominantly sensorineural hearing loss (N = 199), a subgroup of 105 younger subjects with noise-induced hearing loss, and a subgroup of 39 older subjects with sensorineural hearing loss due to heredity and/or old age. A significantly more frequent use of maladaptive behaviors (p less than .001) and verbal communication strategies (p less than .01) was reported by older subjects with age-related and/or hereditary hearing loss than by younger subjects with noise-induced hearing loss. The Communication Strategies scale seems to be an adequately reliable and clinically useful instrument for assessing adaptive and maladaptive strategies in hearing-impaired subjects.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1992

Psychometric evaluation of the hearing measurement scale on patients registered in a Swedish hearing centre.

The hearing measurement scale (HMS), targeting the experience of being hearing impaired, was translated into Swedish and answered by 122 patients with slight to moderate hearing losses. According to the item analysis the test construction of the HMS functions well with a relevant division of the sections. In all sections there were individuals utilizing all response possibilities and the homogeneity (alpha) of the test was high. One exception was section II (hearing non-verbal sounds), which may be due to lack of awareness, indicating that it might not be possible to pursue this dimension by a questionnaire approach. Normative descriptions were given for two age groups: 40 to 60 and 61 to 74 years, including both sexes. The groups had a similar outcome on the HMS, even though the older subjects, on average, had worse hearing problems, measured by pure-tone audiometry. The section covering speech perception had the strongest correlation with hearing loss, while the section covering emotional response entirely lacked such correlations for the younger group.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1991

Psychological and somatic distress in relation to perceived hearing disability, hearing handicap, and hearing measurements.

Acquired hearing loss has frequently been reported to cause strains in everyday life, but few attempts have been reported where the affliction is related to the concept of stress. In this within-subjects investigation of 48 middle-aged to elderly hearing impaired patients, the relationships between hearing measurements, experienced disability and handicap (HMS), and psychological and somatic distress symptoms (SCL-90(R)) were analyzed. The variations in experienced hearing disability was found to correlate to the occurrence of a few, but more severe distress symptoms, and by loss of hearing for high frequencies. The experienced handicap, defined as emotional responses and personal opinions, was found to correlate to a general level of distress. In particular those distress items expressing insecurity were related to handicap experience. It was suggested that insecurity in social settings, and diminished hearing for contextual sounds, could cause a perceived loss of control, which could induce stress reactions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1990

Clinical trials with a programmable hearing aid set for various listening environments.

A conventional hearing aid has a frequency response that does not change much at normal listening levels. It is therefore unlikely that optimal speech intelligibility and optimal listening comfort can be obtained simultaneously, or in different listening environments. With a programmable hearing aid with multiple memories the listener can choose between a range of sound pictures, which increases the chance of finding a suitable frequency curve for each listening situation. The programmable hearing aid with eight separate settings stored in eight memories, was compared with personal hearing aids fitted according to the recommendations of the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) by 22 experienced hearing aid users. One memory of the programmable hearing aid was initially fitted according to the NAL recommendation. The other memories were programmed to give variations around that recommendation. One aim was to investigate whether the hearing-impaired user took advantage of different frequency responses to achieve listening improvements in acoustically different environments. Another aim was to evaluate the ergonomic and acoustical features of the programmable hearing aid, compared with other well fitted hearing aids. The evaluations were based on comparisons of the test hearing aid to the personal aid for each subject, looking at speech tests, direct paired comparison judgements, sound quality judgements and interviews. A majority of the subjects experienced substantial benefit from being able to use different frequency response curves in different environments. With the test hearing aid the subjects performed better in speech discrimination tests in noise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1990

The active fitting (AF) programme of hearing aids: a psychological perspective.

Rehabilitation of the majority of hearing handicapped in Sweden consists of hearing aid fitting, provision of technical devices and information during about four visits to a Hearing Centre. Generally there is no structured guidance of the hearing handicapped on how to proceed with the hearing aid at home between appointments. A programme of active fitting (AF) of hearing aids, with a task-oriented diary, 'Try Your Hearing Aid' as a basic part, was therefore developed. We conducted a series of studies from 1985 to 1988 with the aim of investigating the benefit and applicability of the programme. A total of 128 new hearing aid candidates participated in three studies at the Sahlgrens hospital and at four other hearing centres in smaller Swedish towns. In a controlled study the AF group was more positive to their hearing aids and to the fitting period after 10 months. They used their hearing aids more frequently and felt psychologically more secure with them. It was established that the AF programme could well be applied in the clinical routine for a majority of new hearing aid patients. Old age per se was not found to be a relevant exclusion criterion. The positive outcome of the AF programme has stimulated the Swedish Institute of the Handicapped to print 'Try Your Hearing Aid' with a manual, and to introduce it to all hearing centres in Sweden.

Aged↗

PubMed1990

Multi-programmable hearing aid.

A basic problem in hearing-aid fitting is the difficulty in finding one setting optimal to all listening situations that might occur. The objective was to develop a behind-the-ear hearing-aid with a very flexible analog signal processor which is digitally controlled, and a memory with logic, so that the hearing-impaired person can select from eight completely different fittings. To program and adjust this multi-programmable hearing-aid (called MemoryMate) a hearing evaluation and recommendation system (called Master-Fit) has been developed, based on an IBM PS/2 computer. This system offers the dispenser prescriptive fitting methods and performance of real ear measurements. It can be used to manage a client database. Preliminary results from a clinical study conducted in 1988 are presented. The paper also describes the uniqueness of this multi-programmable hearing aid as a powerful new research tool.

Aged↗