Abstract
Studies of the effects of amplification with remote microphone hearing aids for children
with auditory processing disorder or dyslexia consistently show therapeutic as well
as assistive benefits from the amplification. The immediate assistive benefits include
improved attention, learning, behavior and participation in class, and improved self-esteem
and psychosocial development. The long-term therapeutic benefits include improvements
in cortical auditory evoked potential amplitudes to tone stimuli, auditory brainstem
responses to speech stimuli, frequency discrimination, binaural temporal resolution,
frequency pattern recognition, auditory working memory, core language, phonological
awareness, and speech perception in spatially separated noise. Amplification appears
to treat a wide range of auditory skills simultaneously, facilitating neuroplastic
change while also providing access to the auditory world. Expert intervention to engage
the support of teachers is a critical element in achieving successful outcomes. Children
treated with remote microphone hearing aids may not require long-term amplification.
Keywords
Auditory processing - remote microphone hearing aids - FM systems - auditory neuroplasticity
- dyslexia