Which patients with a unilateral hearing aid for symmetric sensorineural hearing loss have auditory deprivation?

Objectives. The aim of study is to find conditions that aggravate auditory deprivation in patients with symmetric hearing loss after unilateral digital, non-linear hearing aid (HA). Methods. In the retrospective case-comparison study, we assessed 47 patients with symmetric sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), wearing unilateral conventional HAs. Audiological outcomes were assessed >1 year after HA fitting (mean duration, 31.0 months). Pure-tone audiometry in HA-aided and HA-unaided conditions was performed over time. Word recognition score (WRS) was evaluated at the most comfortable listening level. Results. The initial pure tone average of four frequency thresholds at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz (PTA4) did not show a difference of >5 dB HL between HA-aided and HA-unaided ears. WRS progressively decreased for both HA-aided and HA-unaided ears although the extent of decrease was significantly greater for HA-unaided (7.6%) than for HA-aided ears (5.1%, P<0.05). Notably, auditory deprivation in HA-unaided ears was significantly greater in patients with an initial PTA4 ≥53 dB HL (P<0.001). Conclusion. Bilateral HAs are strongly recommended, particularly for patients with moderate to severe SNHL to prevent auditory deprivation in the contralateral ear.