Plomp R, Festen J M
Academisch Ziekenhuis VU, afdeling KNO, Amsterdam.
Tijdschr Gerontol Geriatr. 1996 Feb;27(1):14-9.
Many elderly persons have problems in understanding speech in the presence of voice babble, music, etc. Fitting a hearing aid often does not improve their speech intelligibility. For a better insight, we should distinguish between two different modes of presbyacusis. The first mode expresses itself in attenuation of all incoming sounds, which can be compensated successfully by the hearing-aid's electronic amplification. The second mode has to do with a reduced capacity of the ear to separate simultaneous sounds. As the hearing aid amplifies both the wanted and the unwanted sounds, its effect is in this case nihil. Extensive investigations have indicated the extent to which each of the two modes is actually present in the elderly. The data have confirmed that the amplification of the hearing aid cannot solve the hearing problems of the majority of the elderly. They need primarily a hearing aid that would help to separate simultaneous sounds. At the moment, the most promising solution of this difficult technical challenge is improving the directional sensitivity.
许多老年人在存在语音嘈杂、音乐等声音的情况下理解言语存在困难。佩戴助听器往往并不能提高他们的言语清晰度。为了更深入地了解，我们应该区分两种不同类型的老年性聋。第一种类型表现为所有传入声音的衰减，这可以通过助听器的电子放大成功补偿。第二种类型与耳朵区分同时出现声音的能力下降有关。由于助听器会放大想要的声音和不想要的声音，在这种情况下其效果为零。广泛的调查表明了这两种类型在老年人中实际存在的程度。数据证实，助听器的放大并不能解决大多数老年人的听力问题。他们主要需要一种有助于区分同时出现声音的助听器。目前，解决这一艰巨技术挑战最有前景的办法是提高方向灵敏度。
