Pilot study to evaluate children with hearing aids through PEACH and TEACH in a rural community

This study was done to evaluate the use of functional measures in hearing aid benefit assessment of children (n = 60) in a rural community. Children with age ranging from 6 months to 15 years with moderately severe to profound hearing loss were evaluated. They were evaluated by functional measures PEACH and TEACH which were translated into local language (Tamil). The relationship between PEACH and TEACH was calculated using SPSS and Chi-square tests. It was found that PEACH and TEACH questionnaires can be easily administered in the rural community and gives a quantitative measure of the effect of amplification. It gave caregivers a motivation to take an active part in the rehabilitation. This model of using functional evaluation tools to evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of amplification can be applied in children in developing countries.