| pubmed-article:1401514 | pubmed:abstractText | At high presentation levels, normally aided ears yield better performance for speech identification than normally unaided ears, while at low presentation levels the converse is true [S. Gatehouse, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 86, 2103-2106 (1989)]. To explain this process further, the speech identification abilities of four subjects with bilateral symmetric sensorineural hearing impairment were investigated following provision of a single hearing aid. Results showed significant increases in the benefit from amplifying speech in the aided ear, but not in the control ear. In addition, a headphone simulation of the unaided condition for the fitted ear shows a decrease in speech identification. The benefits from providing a particular frequency spectrum do not emerge immediately, but over a time course of at least 6-12 weeks. The findings support the existence of perceptual acclimatization effects, and call into question short-term methods of hearing aid evaluation and selection by comparative speech identification tests. | lld:pubmed |
