• Alinka Greasley, Harriet Crook, and Robert Fulford.
• School of Music, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
• Int J Audiol. 2020 Sep 1; 59 (9): 694-706.

AbstractObjective: Two studies explored hearing-aid user and audiologist experiences of hearing-aid use and fitting for music in the UK.Design and sample: One-hundred-seventy-six hearing-aid users (age range: 21-93 years; mean: 60.56 years) answered a 4-item questionnaire on music listening difficulties and discussions about music in clinic. 99 audiologists (age range: 22-71 years; mean: 39.18 years) answered a 36-item questionnaire on the frequency and type of discussions, training received, and strategies for optimizing hearing aids for music. Closed and open-ended questions were included.Results: Sixty seven percent of hearing-aid users reported some degree of difficulty listening to music with hearing aids, and 58% had never discussed music in clinic. 50% of audiologists surveyed asked 1 in 5 (or fewer) patients about music and 67% had never received music-specific training. Audiologist training on music was significantly associated with confidence in providing advice, confidence in programming hearing aids for music, and programming hearing aids for music for a greater number of patients.Conclusions: Hearing-aid users' and audiologists' experiences of music remain mixed. In the absence of formalised training in optimizing hearing aids for music, there is a need for systematic research relating fitting strategies to clinical outcomes and the development of guidelines for audiologist training.

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