Research | July 2020 Hearing Review

What a large data set says about the gain/output requirements for OTC hearing devices

By Thomas J. Tedeschi, AuD, Christine Jones, AuD, and Elizabeth Stewart, AuD

Based on the audiograms of over 28,000 adults, this study shows that commercially-available hearing aids programmed according to parameters typical of those used for individuals with mild-to-moderate hearing loss yield output and gain levels that are well within the recommended limits (110 dB SPL output and 25 dB gain) specified by a recent Consensus Paper issued by the four national professional organizations representing hearing healthcare providers.