# Hearing Aids and the Brain

> **NIH VA I21** · PORTLAND VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Hearing loss is the second most common service-related disability among Veterans, and
together with the progressive effects associated with aging on the auditory system, presents an
important challenge for effective Veteran care. Auditory rehabilitation commonly includes
hearing aids as a means to improve audibility and allow access to important cues for accurate
speech perception, which, in turn, promotes successful communication and engagement in the
psychosocial aspects of life. In addition to immediate audibility improvements introduced by
amplifying sound with a hearing aid, amplification has the potential to have long-term effects on
higher level auditory processing abilities, such as cognition or other abilities required for
complex listening tasks. Long-term effects of amplification, also known as acclimatization
effects, are not well understood relative to more immediate audibility-related effects. A
behavioral and physiological examination of the effects that are associated with hearing aid use
may help to clarify the positive impacts of amplification as a rehabilitation approach.
 This research program sets out to establish both the immediate and long-term effects of
hearing aid amplification using electrophysiological and behavioral outcome measures. The
combination of these measures may lead to important discoveries into understanding the
successful versus the unsuccessful hearing aid user. For example, by comparing and
contrasting the effects of hearing aids on different measures we will understand more about the
physiology that underlies satisfaction and success with amplification. Use of both behavioral and
physiological data will provide a more detailed view of individual differences that contribute to
receiving benefit from a hearing aid and may lead to more individualized treatment of hearing
loss.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10174771
- **Project number:** 5I21RX002396-04
- **Recipient organization:** PORTLAND VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Curtis J Billings
- **Activity code:** I21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-12-01 → 2021-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10174771

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10174771, Hearing Aids and the Brain (5I21RX002396-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10174771. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*