Efficacy of programmable analog hearing aids

As part of the review of the Programme d’aides auditives, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux formed an advisory group mandated to recommend appropriate amendments to ministry officials. The work of the subcommittee on new technologies led the group to ask the Agence
d’évaluation des technologies et des modes d’intervention en santé (AETMIS) to rule on the clinical efficacy of programmable analog hearing aids.

The technological options offered by conventional hearing aids do not always achieve auditoryassistance objectives. Several technological approaches have been explored to offer well-fitted hearing aids to people with a hearing loss, regardless of the sound environment. Work on programmable analog hearing aids has pursued this goal.

According to AETMIS’s evaluation, there is a consensus that these hearing aids are at least as effective as conventional hearing aids in improving hearing. Additional benefits are nevertheless limited, the indications for clinical use compared with those of less advanced technologies are not clear, and costs are higher. Further controlled trials will be required to gather more information on the effectiveness of these approaches.

Although this innovative technology may be offered to certain candidates in need of well-fitted hearing aids, there are no grounds for its routine clinical use. This prudence is even more necessary since manufacturers are increasingly losing interest in programmable analog hearing aids in favour of fully digital technologies: therefore the need for cost-benefit analyses of this approach appears even more vital.