THE EFFECT OF AUDITORY TRAINING ON HEARING AID SATISFACTION, SPEECH PERCEPTION, SPATIAL PERCEPTION, AND HEARING QUALITY IN ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS USING HEARING AIDS

Özet

Hearing loss associated with aging represents a major health concern, as it can impair communication and negatively influence overall quality of life in older individuals. The present study sought to investigate the impact of a structured auditory training program on hearing aid–related outcomes, including speech understanding, spatial hearing abilities, and perceived sound quality in elderly hearing aid users.

A quasi-experimental approach was employed, incorporating both intervention and control groups with assessments conducted before and after the training period. The study sample consisted of 30 participants aged 60 years and older (intervention group: n=15; control group: n=15). Data collection was carried out using the Turkish adaptation of the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA-TR) and the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ). Participants in the intervention group underwent auditory training sessions of 40 minutes once per week over a three-month period, whereas the control group did not receive any form of intervention.

Post-intervention findings demonstrated that the intervention group experienced statistically significant gains in hearing aid satisfaction, speech perception, spatial perception, and auditory quality (p<0.05). In contrast, the control group showed no meaningful changes across most evaluated measures. Comparative analyses between groups further indicated that hearing aid satisfaction, speech perception, and auditory quality scores were significantly greater in the intervention group after the training period (p<0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed between groups in terms of spatial perception and total SSQ scores (p>0.05).

Overall, these findings suggest that auditory training may contribute positively to the enhancement of communication-related Auditory Training auditory functions and improve hearing aid–related outcomes in older adults.

Keywords: Older Adults, Auditory Training, Hearing Aid Satisfaction, Speech Perception, Hearing Quality