title: Auditory acclimatization and hearing aids: late auditory evoked potentials and speech recognition following unilateral and bilateral amplification.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in central auditory processing following unilateral and bilateral hearing aid fitting using a combination of physiological and behavioral measures: late auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) and speech recognition in noise, respectively. The hypothesis was that for fitted ears, the ERP amplitude would increase over time following hearing aid fitting in parallel with improvement in aided speech recognition. The N1 and P2 ERPs were recorded to 500 and 3000 Hz tones presented at 65, 75, and 85 dB sound pressure level to either the left or right ear. New unilateral and new bilateral hearing aid users were tested at the time of first fitting and after 12 weeks hearing aid use. A control group of long-term hearing aid users was tested over the same time frame. No significant changes in the ERP were observed for any group. There was a statistically significant 2% improvement in aided speech recognition over time for all groups, although this was consistent with a general test-retest effect. This study does not support the existence of an acclimatization effect observable in late ERPs following 12 weeks' hearing aid use.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Piers
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dawes
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Munro
authors.affiliation: Starkey Hearing Research Center, Berkeley, California 94704-1362.
authors.forename: Sridhar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kalluri
authors.affiliation: Starkey Hearing Research Center, Berkeley, California 94704-1362.
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004867:Equipment Design; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011930:Reaction Time; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013997:Time Factors