Late-onset auditory inactivity (deprivation) in persons with bilateral essentially symmetric and conductive hearing impairment.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of prolonged monaural amplification on the suprathreshold speech-recognition scores in the unaided ears of 46 persons with bilateral essentially symmetric and conductive hearing impairment and aided ears of 46 other persons with bilateral essentially symmetric and conductive hearing impairment. All subjects were less than 50 years of age. The suprathreshold speech-recognition loss scores for taped monosyllabic German PB words were analyzed. The frequency distribution of pure-tone averages was essentially equivalent for the aided and unaided ears. Although the magnitude of hearing impairment was essentially equivalent for the aided and unaided ears, the unaided ears tended to have large suprathreshold speech-recognition loss scores than the aided ears. The results are discussed in relation to theories of auditory deprivation and inactivity from monaural amplification. The clinical significance of these findings in relation to ear surgery is also discussed.