Hearing Aid Fitting: New Ear-Tips Proven Effective in Clinical Practice

A recent study by Widex shows that the same ear-tip can have substantially different acoustic properties in different ears. This variation is smaller for the more open ear-tips and larger for the more closed ones. 

Results show that ear-tip variability decreases when using Widex TruAcoustics technology. When the hearing aid is fitted professionally, it is crucial for Hearing Care Professionals to conduct a feedback test so TruAcoustics can tailor the gain to the individual hearing aid user. 

The importance of ear-tips 

Professional hearing aid fitting is central to providing patients with the best possible outcome. That’s why Widex has unique technology such as Sensogram and TruAcoustics™, which allow us to optimize the fitting for each user. 

Now, Widex is taking another step toward optimized individual fittings for all with three new instant ear-tips: 

• Round Open  
• Sleeve Vented 
• Sleeve Power  

Along with the familiar Open and Round 1-vent, these ear-tips are recommended in Compass™ GPS 4.4, helping Hearing Care Professionals provide patients with the best possible hearing experience. 

Common ear-tip issues 

The fit of a given ear-tip in a user’s ear is affected by two things: transparency and leakage. 

Transparency refers to how much the ear-tip’s presence in the ear canal affects the sound coming into the ear. The less the ear-tip affects the sound, the more transparent the fitting.  
Transparency is measured using Real-Ear Occluded Insertion Gain (REOIG), which is the difference between real-ear unaided response (REUR) and real-ear occluded response (REOR) – the response when the ear-tip is in the ear, but the hearing aid is turned off. 

Leakage describes how low-frequency amplified sound leaks from the ear through the vent and around the ear-tip. Leakage is measured using the vent effect (VE), which is the difference in real-ear response to a streamed signal between a setup with the ear-tip in the ear (normal fitting) and a setup with the ear-tip in the ear while the ear is occluded with impression material (occluded). 

Study results – obtaining the best fit 

Our recent study, which includes lab measurements and real-life research, shows that the same ear-tip can have very different acoustic properties in different ears. There is a smaller variation for more open ear-tips and a larger variation for the more closed ones.  

Twenty-four participants with diverse ear canal sizes were selected to study the fit of our three new ear-tips. Overall, the study showed that the new Sleeve Power can be used for heavier hearing losses than was possible with the previous portfolio. Researchers found that the Sleeve Power tip is also considerably more closed than the other recommended ear-tips in the previous portfolio, including the Double-dome ear-tip, often chosen by professionals for a close fit.  

The same pattern is observed for transparency. The open ear-tip was shown to be completely transparent, but the remaining ear-tips were shown to allow less direct sound to enter the ear. The Sleeve Power is the most closed option regarding transparency, too. 

What this means for hearing care professionals 

Given the large variation between different ears, our study results show that hearing care professionals should always do a feedback test to allow TruAcoustics to tailor gain to the individual hearing aid user.  

The individualized ear-tip recommendations in Compass™ GPS have been updated based on the results of this study, so professionals can provide the best fit for their patients.  

DOWNLOAD AND READ THE ENTIRE STUDY HERE