correlation between aural/oral performance and fit-to-target gain among children with moderate-to-profound hearing loss aged 5-10 years

Background and aim: real-ear measurement (rem) enables proper fitting of the hearingaids to achieve the required level of amplification. this study aims to investigate therelationship between aural/oral performance and fit-to-target gain of hearing aids in childrenwith moderate-to-profound hearing loss.methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 children with moderate-to-profoundhearing loss aged 5–10 years. first, the parents’ evaluation of aural/oral performanceof children (peach) questioanire was completed. then, rem was performedusing digital speech at 50, 65, 80, and 90 db spl at 250–8000 hz to obtain the fit to thedesired sensation level, version 5 (dsl v5) target gain.results: a significant negative correlation was found between the total score of thepeach (51.66) and the fit-to-target gain at high frequencies (r=–0.482, p=0.01). themaximum fit-to-target gain was 77.5 db for 65 db spl at 6000 hz. most of the cases(75%) failed to come within ±5 db of the target gain. there was a significant differencein the fit-to-target gain between low and high frequencies and between high frequencieswith similar input levels.conclusion: a negative correlation between aural/oral performance of children withmoderate-to-profound hearing loss and fit-to-target gain of their hearing aids may indicatethat a low fit-to-target gain can improve their aural/oral performance. regular use of remis recommended in prescribing hearing aids to these children.