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Acclimatization to Hearing Aids by Older Adults
Dominique Wright1,2,3, Jean-Pierre Gagné1,2,3
1Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Ear and Hearing
|August 10, 2020
Summary
Older adults with hearing loss improve hearing in noise within 4 weeks of using hearing aids (HAs). This adaptation, or acclimatization, was not linked to cognitive abilities or listening effort changes.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- Hearing aid users (HAUs) require an adaptation period for new hearing aids (HAs).
- Older adults with hearing loss often experience challenges with speech understanding in noisy environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the acclimatization of older adult hearing aid users to new devices.
- To assess changes in listening effort and speech recognition over time.
Main Methods:
- Forty-seven older adults with hearing loss participated, including new and experienced hearing aid users.
- New users were assigned to groups with activated or deactivated noise reduction/directional microphone features.
- Speech recognition in noise and listening effort were measured over 10 months using the Hearing in Noise Test and a dual-task paradigm.
Main Results:
- New hearing aid users demonstrated a significant improvement in speech recognition in noise (2 dB SNR) within 4 weeks.
- Experienced hearing aid users showed no improvement over time.
- No significant changes were observed in listening effort measures, and acclimatization was not correlated with cognitive abilities.
Conclusions:
- A clinically significant acclimatization effect occurs within 4 weeks of initial hearing aid fitting for new users.
- This adaptation in speech recognition performance is independent of cognitive function.
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