Reexamination of Data on the Acclimatization of Hearing Aid Benefit Using Experienced Hearing Aid Wearers as Controls.
Larry E Humes
PMID 41610411WHAT IT FOUND
Reanalyzing one-year data from 111 adults, this study found no evidence of auditory acclimatization.
Neither new nor experienced hearing aid users showed the expected pattern of improving speech recognition or self-reported benefit over time. Initial hearing aid benefit appeared stable rather than growing.
Key findings
01The addition of a control group of experienced hearing aid wearers to the analyses did not change the overarching conclusion that there was no evidence for auditory acclimatization in aided speech recognition or self-report measures over a 1-year postfit period.
02Of the three auditory speech recognition measures and the five self-report outcomes included, no interactions between postfit interval and hearing aid group were found to be significant.
03When additional analyses were performed using just the bilaterally fit experienced hearing aid users as the control group, two of eight interactions were found to be significant, but the post hoc paired-comparison analyses revealed differences that were not consistent with the hypothesized effects of acclimatization.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The data were collected nearly 25 years ago using analog hearing aids with linear compression, which differ significantly from modern digital hearing aids. The study relied on reanalysis of existing data, and the sample of experienced users who had prior bilateral fitting (n=14) was small. The absence of significant interactions does not prove acclimatization is nonexistent, only that it was not detected in this cohort with these measures. Hearing aid usage declined slightly over time, which could confound the interpretation of changes in benefit.
Declared interests
The original research was supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01-AG08293). The authors of this reanalysis declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of evidence for acclimatization in this study as proof that it never occurs. The authors note that acclimatization may be a small, variable effect that is difficult to detect with current methods, and the mixed evidence in the broader literature remains unresolved.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →