Possibilities of language development within pre school space

Abstract

Technology in hearing aids to compensate hearing losses implies the need to develop instruments to assess the advantages of each particular prescription of eletroacoustic characteristics of the device. The present study investigates the applicability of a qualitative analysis of the errors in word recognition test, using confusion matrixes proposed by Miller and Nicely (1995), during a hearing aid fitting process. Nine patients with descendent sensorineural hearing impairment were tested using monosyllables, in the conditions: without hearing aids, with the initial program proposed by manufacturer and with the hearing aids in the final program at the end of the fitting process, when the patient was satisfied. The results have shown an increase in the number of phonemes perceived by each patient. The confusion matrixes, under the three conditions, could identify which phonemes were more difficult to be perceived as well as orient the need for changes in the hearing aid. The clinical validity in using this type of analysis for the prescription of hearing aids is discussed, as well as suggestions for future researches.