A systematic review of literature addressing the question "Is there evidence pointing
to optimal signal processing for pediatric hearing aid patients?" was conducted. Key
words and authors were used as search terms in five databases, and one textbook appendix
was reviewed for related references. The levels of evidence that were accepted comprised
randomized controlled trials, nonrandomized controlled trials, cohort, and before/after
designs with or without control groups. Two hundred twenty-six articles were identified
during the preliminary search with 183 of these eliminated by review of abstracts
because they did not meet the search criteria. Forty-three manuscripts were reviewed,
with eight meeting the evidence levels and search criteria. The strengths and weaknesses
of these studies are highlighted, and the systematic review question is answered in
light of these studies. There is evidence to recommend wide dynamic range compression
signal processing for pediatric hearing aid users with mild, moderate, and moderately
severe sensorineural hearing loss when full-time and consistent audibility is the
goal of the hearing aid fitting. Further, there is evidence that audibility across
a wide frequency bandwidth as well as across a large range of input levels is essential
for pediatric hearing aid users to recognize critical components of the spoken language.
Key Words
Audibility - comfort - linear - pediatric - signal processing - verification - wide
dynamic range
