Intensity-related performances are modified by long-term hearing aid use: a functional plasticity?

It is now well established that the adult central nervous system can reorganize following various environmental changes. In particular, it has been hypothesized that auditory rehabilitation of sensorineural hearing-impaired adults may involve functional plasticity. The present study sought to compare intensity-related performance between two groups of subjects paired for age, gender and absolute thresholds in both ears. One group comprised long-term binaural hearing aid (HA) users and the other non-HA users. The effect of HA use was measured in two intensity tasks, a discrimination-limen-for-intensity task (DLI) and a loudness-scaling task. Results indicated that significant differences exist in loudness perception between long-term HA users and non-HA users, the latter rating intensity as louder than the former. Concerning intensity discrimination performance, a statistical tendency to lower, i.e. better, DLIs in long-term than in non-HA users was revealed. Moreover, significant differences between ears were observed in the loudness-scaling task, with the right ear showing greater inter-group difference than the left ear. This additional result points to a lateralization of the acclimatization effect. Finally, this study suggests significant perceptual modification and thus a possible functional plasticity entailed by HA use.