Hearing Aids and the Brain

听力损失是退伍军人中第二常见的与服务相关的残疾，以及 连同与衰老相关的对听觉系统的渐进性影响，呈现出一种 对有效的退伍军人护理提出了重大挑战。听力康复通常包括 助听器作为一种改善听力的手段，并允许获取重要提示以获得准确的 言语感知，反过来又促进了成功的沟通和参与 生活中的心理社会方面。除了立即提高可听性之外， 用助听器放大声音，放大有可能对 更高水平的听觉处理能力，如认知或其他所需的能力 复杂的听力任务。放大的长期效应，也称为习服 相对于更直接的与听觉相关的影响，人们还不能很好地理解这些影响。一个 对助听器使用相关影响的行为和生理检查 可能有助于澄清放大作为一种康复方法的积极影响。 这项研究计划旨在确定以下两个方面的直接和长期影响 使用电生理和行为结果测量的助听器放大。这个 这些措施的结合可能会导致重要的发现，以理解 成功的助听器与不成功的助听器用户。例如，通过比较和 对比不同措施的助听器效果，我们会更了解 通过扩增获得满意和成功的生理学基础。同时使用行为和 生理数据将提供对个体差异的更详细的查看，这些差异有助于 从助听器中受益，并可能导致对听力的更个性化治疗 损失。

Hearing loss is the second most common service-related disability among Veterans, and together with the progressive effects associated with aging on the auditory system, presents an important challenge for effective Veteran care. Auditory rehabilitation commonly includes hearing aids as a means to improve audibility and allow access to important cues for accurate speech perception, which, in turn, promotes successful communication and engagement in the psychosocial aspects of life. In addition to immediate audibility improvements introduced by amplifying sound with a hearing aid, amplification has the potential to have long-term effects on higher level auditory processing abilities, such as cognition or other abilities required for complex listening tasks. Long-term effects of amplification, also known as acclimatization effects, are not well understood relative to more immediate audibility-related effects. A behavioral and physiological examination of the effects that are associated with hearing aid use may help to clarify the positive impacts of amplification as a rehabilitation approach. This research program sets out to establish both the immediate and long-term effects of hearing aid amplification using electrophysiological and behavioral outcome measures. The combination of these measures may lead to important discoveries into understanding the successful versus the unsuccessful hearing aid user. For example, by comparing and contrasting the effects of hearing aids on different measures we will understand more about the physiology that underlies satisfaction and success with amplification. Use of both behavioral and physiological data will provide a more detailed view of individual differences that contribute to receiving benefit from a hearing aid and may lead to more individualized treatment of hearing loss.