Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case Study
This paper reviews the development process and discusses the key findings which resulted from our multidisciplinary research team’s effort to develop an alternative digital hearing suitable for low-resource countries such as Thailand. A cost-effective, fully programmable digital hearing aid, with it...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | The Scientific World Journal |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/549486 |
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| author | P. Israsena S. Isaradisaikul A. Noymai S. Boonyanukul A. Hemakom C. Chinnarat N. Navacharoen S. Lekagul |
| author_facet | P. Israsena S. Isaradisaikul A. Noymai S. Boonyanukul A. Hemakom C. Chinnarat N. Navacharoen S. Lekagul |
| author_sort | P. Israsena |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper reviews the development process and discusses the key findings which resulted from our multidisciplinary research team’s effort to develop an alternative digital hearing suitable for low-resource countries such as Thailand. A cost-effective, fully programmable digital hearing aid, with its specifications benchmarking against WHO’s recommendations, was systematically designed, engineered, and tested. Clinically it had undergone a full clinical trial that employed the outcome measurement protocol adopted from the APHAB, the first time implemented in Thai language. Results indicated that using the hearing aid improves user’s satisfaction in terms of ease of communication, background noises, and reverberation, with clear benefit after 3 and 6 months, confirming its efficacy. In terms of engineering, the hearing aid also proved to be robust, passing all the designated tests. As the technology has successfully been transferred to a local company for the production phase, we also discuss other challenges that may arise before the device can be introduced into the market. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c348695a83ad450484b70cd48baa55b8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1537-744X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Scientific World Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-c348695a83ad450484b70cd48baa55b82025-02-03T01:32:50ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2013-01-01201310.1155/2013/549486549486Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case StudyP. Israsena0S. Isaradisaikul1A. Noymai2S. Boonyanukul3A. Hemakom4C. Chinnarat5N. Navacharoen6S. Lekagul7National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), 112 Thailand Science Park, Pathumthani 12120, ThailandDepartment of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chaing Mai 50200, ThailandNational Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), 112 Thailand Science Park, Pathumthani 12120, ThailandDepartment of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chaing Mai 50200, ThailandNational Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), 112 Thailand Science Park, Pathumthani 12120, ThailandDepartment of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chaing Mai 50200, ThailandDepartment of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chaing Mai 50200, ThailandThe Rural ENT Foundation, RCOT, Soi Soonwichai, Huaykwang, Bangkok 10320, ThailandThis paper reviews the development process and discusses the key findings which resulted from our multidisciplinary research team’s effort to develop an alternative digital hearing suitable for low-resource countries such as Thailand. A cost-effective, fully programmable digital hearing aid, with its specifications benchmarking against WHO’s recommendations, was systematically designed, engineered, and tested. Clinically it had undergone a full clinical trial that employed the outcome measurement protocol adopted from the APHAB, the first time implemented in Thai language. Results indicated that using the hearing aid improves user’s satisfaction in terms of ease of communication, background noises, and reverberation, with clear benefit after 3 and 6 months, confirming its efficacy. In terms of engineering, the hearing aid also proved to be robust, passing all the designated tests. As the technology has successfully been transferred to a local company for the production phase, we also discuss other challenges that may arise before the device can be introduced into the market.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/549486 |
| spellingShingle | P. Israsena S. Isaradisaikul A. Noymai S. Boonyanukul A. Hemakom C. Chinnarat N. Navacharoen S. Lekagul Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case Study The Scientific World Journal |
| title | Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case Study |
| title_full | Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case Study |
| title_short | Developing an Appropriate Digital Hearing Aid for Low-Resource Countries: A Case Study |
| title_sort | developing an appropriate digital hearing aid for low resource countries a case study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/549486 |
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