Some effects of training and experience for children using one and two hearing aids

In order to determine whether increased binaural advantages accompany experience with binaural inputs, this study: (a) compared the pattern of performance in selective listening between normally-hearing and monaurally-issued hearing-impaired subjects; (b) examined the effects of training with one and two hearing aids on the speech intelligibility of hearing-impaired children, and (c) examined the effects of children's past experience with two hearing aids on selective listening performance. Results showed (i) differences in patterns of selective listening between normal and hearing-impaired subjects; (ii) training in the binaural mode to offer more scope for improvement than training in the monaural mode; (iii) no clear indication that past experience with two hearing aids automatically leads to marked binaural gains. The implications of these results are discussed with reference to fitting binaural hearing aids.