Effect of sound amplification in speech perception in elderly with and without tinnitus.

PURPOSE To verify the effect of the use of auditory prostheses on speech perception tests in elderly individuals with and without tinnitus having hearing impairment. METHODS We evaluated 24 elderly patients with moderate sensorineural hearing loss, aged between 60 and 70 years, distributed into two groups according to the presence or absence of tinnitus. All of them were fitted with micro-canal auditory prostheses from the same manufacturer and model, and underwent speech perception tests. The assessments were performed with and without the amplification devices after 1 and 3 months of effective use. For data analysis, Mann-Whitney test was used. RESULTS Elderly people from the tinnitus group presented lower performance in speech perception tests than those from the group without tinnitus. In the evaluations with the devices, the performance of both groups was better than when they were evaluated without hearing aids. CONCLUSION The acoustic stimulation through the effective use of hearing aids produced better speech perception, regardless of the presence of tinnitus.