| Sumario: | Purpose: Individual older adults with hearing loss often have unique communication needs that vary across different listening conditions. The current study examined whether user-directed fine-tuning of hearing aid programs specifically for different sound scenes would improve perceived speech quality. Method: Thirty older adult participants were recruited based on self-reported hearing challenges or pure-tone audiometry indicating a hearing loss. Participants self-tuned the hearing aid frequency-gain characteristics while listening to continuous speech embedded in background noise, presented as simulated real-world sound scenes. The self-tuning procedure was conducted in two sound scenes, "Noisy Indoor" and "Noisy Outdoor," with an average speech level at 60 dB(A) and signal-to-noise ratios of +5 dB and +10 dB, respectively. Speech quality ratings were collected for each scene using an interface inspired by the Multiple Stimuli with Hidden Reference and Anchor method. In each sound scene, participants rated four programs: two self-tuned, one standard prescription based, and one poor-quality anchor. The order of presentation was randomized and blinded. Results: Results showed that participants rated their self-tuned programs tailored to specific scenes significantly higher compared to both the prescription-based program and their self-tuned program for the other scene. Conclusion: User-driven self-tuning procedures can be useful to capture scene-specific preferences for hearing aid settings and improve the perceived speech quality.
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