J AM ACAD AUDIOL 1/4 (1990) 175-180

Apparent auditory deprivation from monaural amplification and recovery with binaural amplification: two case studies.

Silverman C.A., Silman S.

Department of Communication Sciences, Hunter College, City University of New York, NY 10010.

Abstract
The suprathreshold word-recognition scores for 2 young, adult males with bilateral, symmetrical sensorineural hearing impairment were evaluated following monaural and then binaural hearing-aid fitting. Subjects were obtained by retrospective review of records. Subject 1 was followed over an approximately 11.5-year time period and Subject 2 was followed over an approximately 6-year period. Results revealed that a significant decrement occurred in the unaided ear following the monaural hearing-aid fitting. Then, significant improvement in the formerly unaided ear occurred following the binaural hearing-aid fitting. The implications with respect to recovery from apparent auditory deprivation after binaural amplification are discussed.

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