Beyond the Ear: Physiological Perspectives on Auditory Rehabilitation

Despite much research focusing on hearing aid and cochlear implant devices, their engineering, and how they might be modified to ensure better use, research still cannot fully explain why two individuals with the same configuration of hearing loss demonstrate significantly different improvements in speech understanding with similar hearing devices. One potential source of performance variability might be the central auditory system. Here we review the use of speech-evoked cortical potentials to investigate issues of performance variability and auditory rehabilitation. Specifically addressed are issues pertaining to the neural detection of time-varying speech cues, auditory training, and aging.