Patient outcomes of self-fitting hearing aids. A scoping review.

Developments in hearing aid (HA) technology have led to new types of hearing devices that aim to manage the burden of hearing loss (HL) as efficiently as possible (Kim & Barrs, 2006). One example of this is self-fitting hearing aids (SFHAs), which aim to measure, prescribe, and provide the appropriate amplification to meet patients’ hearing needs, without the requirement of an audiologist to set the device up (Wong, 2012). Their relative newness limits the literature around patient outcomes with these devices, and further research is needed to collate findings comparing patient outcomes of SFHAs to their audiologist-fitted counterparts (Boothroyd, et al., 2025). This review aims to identify areas where future research on SFHAs is needed to investigate whether these devices effectively meet patient needs. Additionally, more conclusive evidence on the outcomes of SFHAs may indicate whether self-fitting devices could be more widely used globally, particularly in public healthcare systems like the NHS, where cost- and time-efficient technologies could help alleviate a system under considerable pressure (NHS England, 2017). The primary research question is: What patient outcomes do self-fitting hearing aids produce? An additional secondary research question will be considered to investigate the primary research question in more detail: Do self-fitting hearing aids produce similar patient outcomes compared to Audiologist-fitted hearing aids? It is expected that this review will map the available evidence around patient outcomes of self-fitting hearing aids, and identify gaps in literature where further research is needed to conduct analysis of the data.