Abstract
The relationship between functional insertion gain and articulation scores for consonants was studied in patients whose hearing aids have been satisfactorily used for their normal daily activities. Since most of the patients examined in this study were elderly, we performed two 20-item monosyllabic discrimination tests instead of a 50-item monosyllabic discrimination test. The rate of improvement in the articulation scores for consonants was determined by combining the results of the two tests. The results indicated that the functional insertion gain at 1500Hz tended to be correlated with the rate of improvement in articulation scores for voiced consonants, while the functional insertion gain at 3000Hz and 4000Hz tended to be correlated with the rate of improvement in articulation scores for voiceless consonants. Individual differences in the reception of voiced consonants were considered to be greater than for voiceless consonants.
