Bimodal Programming: A Survey of Current Clinical Practice

The purpose of this study was to determine the current clinical practice in approaches to bimodal programming in the United States. To be specific, if clinicians are recommending bimodal stimulation, who programs the hearing aid in the bimodal condition, and what method is used for programming the h...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of audiology 2015-06, Vol.24 (2), p.243-249
Main Authors: Siburt, Hannah W, Holmes, Alice E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Assistive Technology
Auditory Perception
Brain mapping
Clinical medicine
Clinics
Cochlear Implantation
Cochlear Implants
Design and construction
Ears & hearing
Guidelines
Hearing Aids
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - rehabilitation
Humans
Listening Comprehension
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Methods
Neural stimulation
Online Surveys
Outcome Measures
Phonology
Practice Patterns, Physicians
Programming
Speech Improvement
Stimulation
Suprasegmentals
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study was to determine the current clinical practice in approaches to bimodal programming in the United States. To be specific, if clinicians are recommending bimodal stimulation, who programs the hearing aid in the bimodal condition, and what method is used for programming the hearing aid? An 11-question online survey was created and sent via email to a comprehensive list of cochlear implant programming centers in the United States. The survey was sent to 360 recipients. Respondents in this study represented a diverse group of clinical settings (response rate: 26%). Results indicate little agreement about who programs the hearing aids, when they are programmed, and how they are programmed in the bimodal condition. Analysis of small versus large implant centers indicated small centers are less likely to add a device to the contralateral ear. Although a growing number of cochlear implant recipients choose to wear a hearing aid on the contralateral ear, there is inconsistency in the current clinical approach to bimodal programming. These survey results provide evidence of large variability in the current bimodal programming practices and indicate a need for more structured clinical recommendations and programming approaches.
ISSN:1059-0889
1558-9137
DOI:10.1044/2015_AJA-14-0069