Effectiveness of an OTC Hearing Aid vs. Audiologist-Fitted Hearing Aid

and mocking and berating are part of the research method as well? I asked a question and have gotten no answer but rather assertions without sources. Hubris? Louie, Louie, you get annoyed when your bald “must” is questioned.
one normally would find a null hypothesis along with an alternate hypothesis at the start of a study like this. here, there is no stated alternate hypothesis. By the way you’re confusing ‘null hypothesis’ with ‘hypothesis’. These two are not identical. Or maybe you’re just hedging.
why not simply answer my critique rather than avoid the issue with sarcasm? I suggested several ways that the study was open to question and have heard nothing about any of them from you. Ah well, it’s amusing.

You critiqued the study for stating a hypothesis. I simply informed you that all studies start with a hypothesis. I don’t have the time, nor is it my job to educate you about the principles that underpin the basics of research methodology on a hearing aid forum. You have the internet at your disposale - I suggest you use it. It seems like you’ve already started learning… good on you. I’m glad I could assist in your education. Keep up the good work.

I don’t get annoyed when a “must” is challenged. I get annoyed when someone’s confidence and strength of conviction is outmatched only by his ignorance on a topic.

These people have now followed up this study with longer-term data:

Long-Term Outcomes of Self-Fit vs Audiologist-Fit Hearing Aids8

This comparative effectiveness research study compares long-term audiologist-fit hearing aid outcomes and self-fit hearing aid outcomes according to participants’ self-reported measures.

It doesn’t surprise me that the DIY results are just as good and often better for the person wearing a hearing aid.

Part of it is the communication between fitter and wearer. Another part is the ability to make multiple adjustments in a short period of time and examine the result quickly. And still another, the fitter can’t hear what the wearer’s hearing is processing.

I wear OTC hearing aids, although I just ordered prescription Phonak Spheres to replace the OTC’s. One factor that has to be taken into consideration, if you have not used OTC’s, is that they typically have only 3 bands of adjustment, i.e., low frequency, mid range, and high frequency. So an audiologist does not have a lot to work with, and a user, with the limited amount of adjustment possible, could very likely match the results of an audiologist, possibly by just luck. Now take a typical prescription hearing aid with 20-24 channels to adjust, multiple programs, auto-switching between programs, etc., and the results would probably be much different between a user self-adjusting and an audiologist.

The lack of frequency bands to adjust coupled with the few (if any) different modes or programs means that OTC hearing aids, as designed, are easy for a user to get reasonable results. But, the reason I am paying thousands of dollars to replace the OTC’s is because the limited capabilities don’t give me satisfactory results.

I programed my Philips 9040 hearing aids, I think I’ve done just as good of a job, if not better, then the the Costco fitter.

So while I agree that you can dial in your hearing aids better with 20 frequency bands, I disagree with saying an audiologist or other HCP will do a better job then what I’ve done.

Good for you. 99.98% of hearing aid wearers could not do so. Most hearing aid wearers can’t change the wax guards themselves. I stand by my comment that for the vast majority of hearing aid wearers, setting up a hearing aid with 20 or more bands is way beyond their capabilities.