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Biomedical subjects

Martti Sorri

Publications and source records attributed to Martti Sorri.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Counselling of hearing aid users is highly cost-effective.

Hearing aids (HAs) are often left unused. Several investigations have shown that the use of HAs and the skills to use them can be significantly improved through counselling. Follow-up counselling is often restricted by increased cost. The objective of the study was to assess the cost and the effect of follow-up counselling on HA use. In a prospective pre-post design study, 98 first-time HA users were counselled 6 months after the fitting of a HA, and the use of and benefit from HAs were measured by means of an interview and the short form of the hearing handicap inventory for the elderly (HHIE-S) and the EuroQoL (EQ-5D) questionnaires. The results obtained before and 6 months after counselling were compared and the cost of counselling was calculated. After follow-up counselling, over half of the occasional users of a HA and as many as one third of the non-users became regular users. The number of regular users increased by 16 subjects, and non-users decreased from 29 subjects to 17. The HHIE-S results showed a significant positive change, but the EQ-5D results showed practically no change. The additional expense of follow-up counselling at home was approximately 8.8% (83 euro per visit) of the calculated 942 euro cost of fitting a HA. Bringing one unused HA into regular use required 508 euro. The results show that HA use and the consequent benefit can be significantly increased through counselling. The expense caused by follow-up counselling at home is highly acceptable in addition to the cost of fitting a HA.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Effect of hearing aids on hearing disability and quality of life in the elderly.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of fitting a hearing aid by measuring the benefits derived from hearing aid use. Besides audiologic tests, a short version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly, and the EuroQol questionnaire were used in a prospective study. Ninety-eight first-time hearing aid users were interviewed prior to, and six months after, the fitting of their first hearing aids. The total HHIE-S score changed from 28.7 before, to 12.7 six months after, hearing aid fitting. Altogether 40%-60% of the users reported fewer social or emotional problems. There was a statistically significant positive change in the EQ-VAS score. According to the HHIE-S, hearing aids clearly alleviated hearing disability. The EQ-5D questionnaire was not sensitive enough for measuring the health-related quality of life of subjects with hearing impairment.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Changes in hearing aid use over the past 20 years.

The aim of this study was to find out how the use of hearing aids has been affected by the changes in hearing rehabilitation, hearing aids and society over the past 20 years. Seventy-six first-time hearing aid users were interviewed at their homes, and the results were compared with those of an earlier study made with the same method in 1983 in Finland involving both new and experienced hearing aid users. Hearing aid use and handling skills as well as satisfaction with the hearing aid were explored with interviews using the same questions in both studies. The number of first-time hearing aid users who did not use their hearing aids had decreased from 33.3% in 1983 to 5.3% at the present. Conversely, the number of regular users rose from 40.9 to 56.6%. The use of hearing aids was increased. The users were better able use their hearing aids and were more satisfied with them and the number of those who considered the counseling provided sufficient had also increased.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Hearing among 75-year-old people in three Nordic localities: a comparative study.

The aim of this study was to compare auditory functions and to analyse the prevalence of hearing impairment and the relationship of self-reported hearing disability with audiometric test results among 75-year-old people in three Nordic localities. The representative samples came from Glostrup, Denmark (n = 571), Göteborg, Sweden (n =450), and Jyväskylä, Finland (n =388). The median pure-tone thresholds were rather similar in all three populations. The prevalence of moderate hearing impairment varied between 26% and 34% in men, and between 17% and 23% in women. The corresponding figures in the prevalence of self-reported hearing difficulties were 41%-57%, and 28%-37%. The self-reported difficulties were broadly in accordance with the audiometric test results, but there also were individuals with conflicting results. It is concluded that the prevalence of hearing impairment in the three Nordic localities is fairly similar. To assess hearing disorders in elderly people, both audiometry and self-report data are needed.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Methodological aspects of assessing speech intelligibility among children with impaired hearing.

OBJECTIVE: In the assessment of speech intelligibility, procedures that are easy to use, but also valid and reliable, are needed. The aim of this study was to explore the reliability and concurrent validity of two scaling methods for assessing the speech intelligibility of children with impaired hearing. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 51 children aged 4-17 years with a mild to profound hearing impairment performed a naming task comprising 62 single words. Altogether, 85 inexperienced listeners, divided into 17 panels, assessed the speech production of the children. A percent correct score (for identification of the words) was obtained from every listener. The listeners were also asked to judge the overall intelligibility of each child using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a four-point ordinal level rating scale with verbal descriptors. RESULTS: The percent correct score correlated significantly both with the VAS and the rating scale with verbal descriptors (Pearsons' coefficient 0.90 and Spearman's coefficient 0.78, respectively). Also, the VAS and the scale with verbal descriptors were significantly intercorrelated (Spearman's rho 0.85). Moderate to high correlations were usually obtained for all grades of hearing impairment, both sexes, different age groups and main communication modes. CONCLUSIONS: Especially for assessing the need for remediation of speech and in monitoring its effectiveness, a quick overall estimate of speech intelligibility can be obtained quite reliably using the above rating scales. Item identification is more time-consuming but is often needed in research and therapy planning, where acoustic and linguistic phenomena that reduce intelligibility need to be traced.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Changes in hearing in 80-year-old people: a 10-year follow-up study.

The aims of this prospective 10-year longitudinal population study were to report changes in hearing in people aged 80 years at baseline, and to assess such changes by comparing results from both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. The study population comprised all residents of the city of Jyväskylä born in 1910 (n = 291). The subjects' hearing was tested on three occasions at 5-year intervals with the use of pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and self-report on hearing difficulties. The results showed a significant deterioration in hearing sensitivity in both the longitudinal and cross-sectional assessments over the 10-year follow-up. However, the change in self-assessed hearing difficulties was not significant. Hearing aids were not used by over 75%, of those who had moderate hearing impairment. Self-assessed hearing difficulties at baseline were associated with increased mortality. Hearing deterioration in elderly people and their low level of use of hearing aids deserve closer attention in the healthcare system.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2003

Hearing aid users benefit from induction loop when using digital cellular phones.

OBJECTIVE: Hearing aid users have recently been reported to experience problems with electromagnetic interference when using digital cellular phones. This study was undertaken to investigate the possible benefit of an induction loop system developed for use with some cellular phone models, and also to compare the possible benefit in two languages (Finnish and American English) as well as the benefit with two hearing aid technologies (analog versus digital). DESIGN: The study was performed in controlled laboratory conditions at two tertiary care hearing health care centers, one in Oulu, Finland and the other in Dallas, in the United States. The subjects were experienced users of behind-the-ear hearing aids and served as their own controls in three different listening conditions. Thirty-two eligible subjects (20 in Oulu and 12 in Dallas) participated in three test conditions: 1. call with a landline phone, 2. call with a digital cellular phone alone and 3. call with a digital cellular phone coupled to an induction loop. RESULTS: Sentence recognition scores and subjective judgments using a visual analog scale revealed the poorest results with the digital cellular phone alone. When the induction loop was used with the digital cellular phones, sentence recognition scores and the visual analog scale scores were comparable to the scores obtained with a landline phone. The mean sentence recognition score for analog hearing aids was 62.4% (95% confidence interval 50.2 to 74.6) with the landline phone, 12.6% (-1.6 to 26.9) with the digital cellular phone alone, and 63.3% (44.2 to 82.3) when using the digital cellular phone with the induction loop. For digital hearing aids, the sentence recognition scores were 62.4% (51.9 to 72.9), 37.4% (18.0 to 56.8) and 57.6% (39.0 to 76.2), respectively. There was no significant difference in performance between the two centers. However, when using the digital cellular phone alone, there was no drop in the sentence recognition scores with the few (N = 5) digital hearing aids in Dallas. The subjects ranked the digital cellular phone alone as the poorest test condition and the digital cellular phone with an induction loop as the best. CONCLUSIONS: Induction loops appear to offer one possible solution for the incompatibility problem between hearing aids and digital cellular phones. However, the generalizability of the results must be viewed cautiously, because testing included only one induction loop and two digital cellular phone models.

Adult↗