Evaluating hearing aid acclimatisation in older adults through wearable EEG

在70岁以上的老年人中，超过70%的人会受到听力损失的影响，这通常被认为是健康老龄化不可避免的一部分。被认为是认知衰退和痴呆症的最大潜在可修改风险因素，至关重要的是，个人寻求听力干预措施，以改变听力损失对大脑健康的风险。据估计，成人听力损失每年给英国经济造成300亿GB的损失，隐藏的成本包括沟通效率的下降导致沮丧和努力增加，这反过来又影响社交、孤独和心理健康。临床上对老年性听力损失的主要干预措施是助听器。然而，对助听器的评估依赖于主观反应，主观反应对认知状况、语言背景和教育程度等因素很敏感，表现出显著的健康不平等。我们需要新的、客观的技术解决方案来确定大脑在戴上助听器后对声音的反应。在这个项目中，我们将致力于开发测量听觉大脑活动的方法，以调查老年人的助听器适应情况。具体地说，我们将使用cEEGgrid柔性印刷传感器阵列来收集数据，这使得能够从耳朵周围进行不显眼的多通道脑电采集。这些阵列是便携的，可以在日常生活活动中佩戴。使用cEEGRID技术，我们将在日常、真实生活的听觉体验中获取数据，以提供对听觉功能的客观洞察。这将提供关于老年人大脑如何随着时间的推移适应助听器的生态有效数据，以改进助听器适应情况的评估。

Hearing loss affects over 70% of older adults aged 70+ and is often regarded as an unavoidable part of healthy ageing. Recognised as the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, it is crucial that individuals seek hearing interventions to modify the risk of hearing loss to brain health. Adult hearing loss is estimated to cost the UK economy £30 billion per annum, and hidden costs include decreases in communication efficiency leading to increased frustration and effort, which in turn impacts social interaction, loneliness, and mental health. The main clinical intervention for age-related hearing loss is a hearing aid. However, evaluation of hearing aids is dependent on subjective responses, which are sensitive to factors such as cognitive status, language background, and educational attainment, representing significant health inequality. We require novel, objective, technological solutions to establish how the brain is responding to sound after receiving a hearing aid. In this project, we will work on developing ways of measuring auditory brain activity to investigate hearing aid acclimatisation in older adults. Specifically, we will use cEEGrid flex-printed sensor arrays to collect data, which enable unobtrusive multi-channel EEG acquisition from around the ear. These arrays are portable and can be worn during activities of daily living. Using cEEGrid technology, we will acquire data during everyday, real-life auditory experiences, to provide objective insight into auditory function. This will provide ecologically valid data on how older adults' brains are adapting to hearing aids over time, to improve evaluation of hearing aid acclimatisation.