Do Hearing Aids Improve Spectral and Speech-in-Noise Perception in Children With Mild Hearing Loss?

This study aimed to evaluate spectral resolution and speech understanding in noise among primary school-aged children with bilateral mild sensorineural hearing loss (26-40 dB HL) and to investigate the effect of amplification on these auditory abilities.

The study included 16 children with normal hearing (Group 3) and 32 children with bilateral mild hearing loss (7-10 years old), divided into aided (Group 1) and unaided (Group 2) subgroups. The mean age of the participants was 8.58 ± 0.99 years. The groups were matched according to grade and gender. Following the completion of the information form, assessments included acoustic immittance, otoacoustic emissions, pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, the spectral-temporally modulated ripple test (SMRT), and the Turkish matrix sentence test (TURMatrix) with an adaptive protocol.

Statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups for hearing averages (HAs), speech recognition thresholds (SRTs), speech discrimination scores (SDSs), TURMatrix scores, and SMRT scores, with Group 3 performing better (p < .05). However, no significant differences were found between Groups 1 and 2 in any of these measures, including HA, SRT, SDS, TURMatrix, and SMRT (p > .05). Within Group 1, significant differences were observed between the aided and unaided conditions in HA, SRT, and SDS values measured both under headphones and in the free field, with better results obtained in the aided condition (p < .05). Similarly, TURMatrix scores were significantly higher when tested with hearing aids (p < .05).

These findings underscore that even mild hearing loss can negatively affect key auditory processes in children and demonstrate that hearing aids provide measurable benefits, particularly in noisy listening environments. Amplification can play a critical role in supporting auditory development and communication outcomes in this population. Further longitudinal studies are needed to examine the long-term benefits of hearing aid use in this population.