Questionnaires on desirable properties of hearing aids.

Three questionnaires were presented to 49 hearing-impaired patients. They were asked to rank different properties of behind-the-ear hearing aids with regard to their importance. The first questionnaire dealt with physical properties such as size, weight, and battery-cost, but also with the importance of good sound quality. The second questionnaire focused on the relative importance of various sound quality dimensions, such as softness, clarity, fullness, and others. The third questionnaire asked for suitable sound programs to be used in the procedure of hearing aid fitting in the clinic. Sound quality scored the highest rank by 43 of the patients, and clarity was considered to be the most important sound quality dimension. The most preferred sound programs included male and female voices with or without a background of other voices.