Hearing Aid Effects on Brain and Behavior

听力损失和耳鸣是两个最常见的服务相关的残疾， 老兵这两种情况，加上与衰老有关的渐进性影响， 这对有效的退伍军人护理提出了重大挑战。耳鸣的治疗方法有哪些？ 听力损失已被证明可以提高生活质量。听力损失的听力康复 通常包括助听器作为改善听力的手段，并允许获得重要的 准确的言语感知的线索，这反过来又促进了成功的沟通， 参与生活的心理社会方面。助听器也被发现可以减少 耳鸣患者的听力损失是很严重的，事实上，一些临床医生经常将助听器作为一种 耳鸣治疗的主要手段，在某些情况下，即使听力阈值在 正常范围 除了直接的听力变化和治疗质量有关， 助听器的声音修改，放大也有可能影响 更高水平的听觉处理能力，如噪音中的言语感知，认知或其他 复杂听力任务所需的能力的影响（例如，努力）。长期影响 放大，也称为驯化效应，相对于更多的 直接的听觉相关效应。更好地了解长期适应环境 效果，再加上更直接的听觉效果，将有助于听力学家改善听力 帮助退伍军人取得成功和利益。 使用心理物理、生理、认知和问卷结果的方法 直接可听度和长期适应效果的测量， 助听器的使用可能有助于澄清放大作为康复的积极影响 approach.本研究的目的是检验即时可听性影响 和长期的听觉处理效应的放大影响一系列的结果测量。 对放大过程中发生的变化进行更好的测量将有助于理解 提高康复成功率。

Hearing loss and tinnitus are the two most common service-related disabilities among Veterans. These two conditions, together with the progressive effects associated with aging, present an important challenge for effective Veteran care. Furthermore, treatment of tinnitus and hearing loss has been shown to improve quality of life. Auditory rehabilitation for hearing loss 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 psychosocial aspects of life. Hearing aids have also been found to reduce the bothersome ratings of those with tinnitus; in fact, some clinicians routinely fit hearing aids as a primary means of tinnitus treatment, in some cases even when hearing thresholds are within the normal range. In addition to the immediate audibility changes and treatment qualities related to acoustic modification made by the hearing aid, amplification also has the potential to affect higher level auditory processing abilities, such as speech perception in noise, cognition or other abilities required for complex listening tasks the effects (e.g., effort). Long-term effects of amplification, also known as acclimatization effects, are not well understood relative to more immediate audibility-related effects. A better understanding of the long-term acclimatization effects, together with more immediate audibility effects, will help audiologist to improve hearing aid success and benefit among Veterans. An approach using psychophysical, physiological, cognitive, and questionnaire outcome measures of both immediate audibility and long-term acclimatization effects that are associated with hearing aid use may help to clarify the positive impacts of amplification as a rehabilitation approach. The purpose of this study is to examine the way in which immediate audibility effects and long-term auditory processing effects of amplification affect a range of outcome measures. Improved measurement of the changes that occur with amplification will then help to understand and improve rehabilitation success.