In older adults, the brain can still be trained to hear in noise

Despite significant advancements in hearing aid technology, listeners with hearing loss continue to express frustration when trying to understand conversation in noisy environments. Even with a favorable signal-to-noise ratio, older adults struggle more in these listening situations than younger adults do for a number of reasons, including deficits in central auditory processing and cognitive function. It has become clear that we need to think beyond the ear when managing hearing loss, especially in older adults. A study is described that shows that auditory training appears to partially reverse the effects of aging on neural timing, thus improving central auditory processing. We hope that these results will encourage audiologists and other clinicians to consider auditory training to be an essential component of management of individuals with hearing loss.