Auditory rehabilitation effects on the temporal ordering ability in elderly hearing aids users

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the effects of an auditory rehabilitation program for the temporal ordering ability, of duration and pitch patterns of sounds, in elderly hearing aids users.

Methods: Participants were 17 elderly people, with ages between 60 and 84 years, divided into Control Group (CG), which only used hearing aids, and Study Group (SG), which were submitted to an auditory rehabilitation program that included auditory counseling and training. All subjects were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study, through the Duration Pattern Sequence and Pitch Pattern Sequence tests. The period between assessments was seven weeks.

Results: In the Duration Pattern Sequence test, CG subjects showed mean values of accuracy in the murmured condition of 48.64 and 54.43%, for initial and final assessments, respectively; SG subjects, presented 60.39 and 76.28%. In the named condition, CG presented 51.93 and 52.43%, and SG, 63.94 and 77.44% for initial and final assessments, respectively. In the Pitch Pattern Sequence test, CG subjects showed mean values of accuracy in the murmured condition of 80.62 and 79.94%, and SG subjects, of 79.78 and 90.39%, for initial and final assessments, respectively. In the named the condition, CG presented 82.64 and 84.21%, and SG, 82.94 and 85.89%, for initial and final assessments. There was a difference only for SG subjects in the murmured and named conditions of the Duration Pattern Sequence test, in the named condition of the Pitch Pattern Sequence test, indicating higher mean values in the final assessment.

Conclusion: The auditory rehabilitation program to elderly hearing aid users provide satisfactory improvement in recognition, temporal ordering, and naming of duration and pitch patterns of sounds.