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Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka eventuella skillnader mellan barn med cochleaimplantat (CI) och/eller hörapparat (HA) och normalhörande barn i åldrarna fem till sju år avseende fonologiska och kognitiva förmågor. I studien jämfördes resultat från elva till 44 normalhörande barn med åtta till 25 barn med CI/HA från fyra olika studier. Undersökningsmaterialet utgjordes av kortversionen av Stora fonemtestet, fonologiska representationer, TOWRE samt fem deltest ur testbatteriet SIPS. Testresultaten analyserades kvantitativt och för kortversionen av Stora Fonemtestet även kvalitativt. Resultatet visade att barnen med CI/HA generellt presterade lägre än de normalhörande barnen på test av fonologisk förmåga och fonologiskt arbetsminne, men att de låg i nivå med de normalhörande barnen avseende generellt och visuospatialt arbetsminne. De slutsatser som kunde dras var att barnen med CI/HA presterade signifikant lägre avseende flertalet aspekter av fonologisk förmåga, på gruppnivå, dock var prestationen hos barnen med CI/HA vid uppdelning i åldersgrupper signifikant lägre på test av fonologisk produktion i femårsgruppen, men inte i sex- och sjuårsgrupperna. Beträffande kognitiv förmåga presterade barnen med CI/HA betydligt lägre på test av fonologiskt arbetsminne, men de presterade i nivå med de normalhörande barnen i samma åldrar avseende generellt och visuospatialt arbetsminne. / The aim of the current study was to examine potential differences in phonological and cognitive abilities between children with cochlear implants (CI) and/or hearing aids (HA) and hearing children in the ages five to seven years. The study compared results from eleven to 44 children with normal hearing with eight to 25 children with CI/HA from four different studies. The material consisted of a test of output phonology, a test of phonological representations, TOWRE and five subtests in SIPS. All of the results were analyzed quantitatively and the test of output phonology was also analyzed qualitatively. The results indicated that children with CI/HA in general performed poorer than the hearing children on tests of phonological ability and phonological working memory, but they performed on a par with hearing children on tests of complex and visuospatial working memory. The conclusions that may be drawn are that the children with CI/HA, as a group, exhibited poorer phonological ability on several of tests of phonological ability than the children with normal hearing. When analyzed according to age the children with CI/HA exhibited significantly lower phonological production skills in the group consisting of five year old children, but not in the groups consisting of six and seven year old children. Regarding cognitive ability the children with CI/HA exhibited poorer phonological working memory capacity compared to the children with normal hearing, but regarding complex and visuospatial working memory they exhibited abilities on a par with the children with normal hearing

Low noise, directional microphones are critical for hearing aid applications. This thesis is focused on further development of a biomimetic micromachined directional microphone based on the ear structure of the Ormia Ochracea, a parasitic fly able to locate sound sources in the audio frequency range with high accuracy. The development efforts have been on implementing a version of the microphone for a behind the ear (BTE) package while improving the overall optical efficiency and noise level, demonstrating pulsed laser operation for reduced power consumption, and electrostatic control of the microphone diaphragm position for stable operation over a long time. The new packaging method for the microphone addressed the need for tighter placement tolerances along with a redesigned diaphragm and integration of a microscale optical lens array to improve the optical efficiency of the device. The completed packages were characterized for sensitivity improvement and optical efficiency. The overall optical efficiency was significantly increased from less than 1% to the photo diode array collecting 50% of the emitted optical power from the Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL). This, coupled with the new diaphragm design, improved the acoustic performance of the microphones. Consequently, the noise levels recorded on the devices were about 31 dBA SPL, more than 15dB better than conventional directional microphones with nearly 10 times larger port spacing. Since the application for this technology is hearing aids, the power consumed by the working device needs to be at an acceptable level. The majority of the power used by the microphone is from continuously operating the VCSEL with 2mW optical output power. To reduce this power requirement, it was suggested to pulse the VCSEL at high enough frequency with low duty cycle so that the acoustic signals can be recovered from its samples. In this study, it was found that the VCSEL can be pulsed with little to no degradation in signal to noise ratio as long as the thermal mechanical noise dominated the noise spectrum. The results also indicated that a pulse train with a duty cycle of around 20% can be used without a major loss of performance in the device, meaning the device can effectively run at 1/5 of its original power under pulsed operation mode. Finally, a control technique to overcome some inherent problems of the microphone was demonstrated. Since the optical sensitivity of the microphone depends on the gap between the diaphragm grating and the integrated mirror, it is important to keep that bias gap constant during long term operation against environmental variations and charging effects. Using a simple electrostatic bias controller scheme, the sensitivity variation of the microphone was improved by a factor of 7.68 with bias control. Overall, this thesis has addressed several important aspects of a micromachined biomimetic microphone and further demonstrated its feasibility for hearing aid applications.

Clear speech is a type of speaking style that improves speech intelligibility for many individuals. For example, one study showed a 17 percentage point increase in intelligibility over conversational speech for individuals with sensorineural hearing loss (Picheny et al., 1985). The clear speech benefit also extends to children with learning disabilities (Bradlow et al., 2003), non-native listeners (Bradlow and Bent, 2002), and other populations. Although clear speech is typically slower than conversational speech, it can be produced, naturally, at normal rates with training. For young listeners with normal hearing, clear speech at normal rates (clear/normal) is more intelligible than conversational speech (conv/normal) and is almost as beneficial as clear speech at slow rates (clear/slow) (Krause and Braida, 2002). However, a preliminary study by Krause (2001), found that clear/normal speech may benefit some older listeners with hearing loss but not others, suggesting that age may be a factor in the clear speech benefit at normal rates. It is evident, though, that clear speech at slow rates benefits this population (Picheny et al., 1985; Payton et al., 1994; Schum, 1996; Helfer, 1998). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine older listeners with normal hearing to determine how speech intelligibility, measured by % correct keyword scores, varies with speaking mode, speaking rate, talker and listener. Results were then compared to previously collected data from younger listeners with normal hearing (Krause and Braida, 2002) in order to isolate the effect of age on the size of clear speech benefit at slow and normal speaking rates.Eight adults (ages 55-68) with normal hearing participated in speech intelligibility tests.

Η διπλωματική έχει σαν στόχο να μελετήσει και να αξιολογήσει τεχνικές συμπίεσης που εφαρμόζονται στην περίπτωση ατόμων με πρόβλημα βαρηκοΐας. Η διαδικασία της συμπίεσης αποσκοπεί στο να αλλάξει τα επίπεδα ισχύος των ακουστικών σημάτων έτσι, ώστε να ανταποκρίνονται καλύτερα στις ακουστικές δυνατότητες του ασθενούς. Οι συμπιεστές υλοποιούνται με δυναμικές διαδικασίες επεξεργασίας σήματος ώστε να αντιδρούν άμεσα στις αλλαγές των χαρακτηριστικών του προς επεξεργασία ήχου. Οι επικρατέστερες τεχνικές θα υλοποιηθούν σε ειδική πλατφόρμα επεξεργασίας και θα αξιολογηθούν ως προς την απόδοσή τους. Θα γίνει επίσης σύγκριση με νέες τεχνικές οι οποίες θα προταθούν για πρώτη φορά στην παρούσα διπλωματική. / .

Les enfants sourds congénitaux ne peuvent pas acquérir le langage oral. L'acquisition du langage après réhabilitation montre des différences individuelles qui peuvent être liées à la réorganisation corticale consécutive à la surdité. Le fonctionnement auditif cortical peut être exploré par les méthodes électrophysiologiques. Notre première étude a permis de montrer une relation entre les réponses auditives temporales (onde N1c) et les capacités langagières chez des enfants avec une réhabilitation audioprothétique. Dans une seconde étude, nous avons mis en évidence une réponse spécifique à la voix humaine chez les enfants implantés cochléaires ayant un bon niveau de langage. La distribution de cette réponse est cependant différente de celle obtenue chez les enfants normo-entendants. La réduction de l'artefact dû à l'implant cochléaire a été une étape préliminaire indispensable à l'analyse des potentiels évoqués auditifs corticaux. L’identification de tels marqueurs permettra de définir des facteurs pronostics et de mieux repérer les enfants nécessitant une adaptation précoce de la rééducation. / Congenitally deaf children cannot acquire spoken language. Language development following auditory rehabilitation varies widely from child to child; this variability could be explained by cortical reorganisation following congenital deafness. Electrophysiological techniques make it possible to investigate cortical auditory processing. Our first study identified a relationship between auditory temporal responses (N1c wave) and language performance in children fitted with hearing aids for moderate congenital deafness. Our second study investigated cortical voice processing in children with a cochlear implant (CI) and with good language performance. Minimisation of the CI artifact was a preliminary step to analyse cortical auditory evoked potentials. A specific response to voice was found in children with CI, broader and more frontally distributed than this recorded in normal hearing children. The identification of such markers shoult it make possible to identify prognostic factors and to better indentify children in need of early care management.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:50:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-02-24 / O objetivo desta pesquisa foi estudar os efeitos da intervenção fonoaudiológica por meio de adaptação de próteses auditivas na qualidade de vida do idoso, segundo as variáveis sexo e faixa etária. Método: Participaram do estudo 50 idosos, sendo 23 do sexo feminino e 27 do sexo masculino. Os idosos foram distribuídos em dois grupos etários: Grupo 1 – composto por 24 idosos, 11 do sexo feminino e 13 do sexo masculino, com idade entre 60 a 74 anos e Grupo 2 (G2) – composto por 26 idosos, 12 do sexo feminino e 14 do sexo masculino, com idade igual ou superior a 75 anos. Os idosos foram avaliados antes da adaptação das próteses auditivas e um ano após a adaptação das próteses auditivas, por meio de questionários, HHIE e SF 36, e o teste MEEM. Foram realizados acompanhamentos bimensais a fim de garantir o uso efetivo das próteses auditivas. Resultados: A análise do HHIE revelou que os escores das Escalas Emocional e Social no período pós intervenção foram estatisticamente significantes, nas duas faixas etárias, tanto no sexo masculino quanto no sexo feminino. Os resultados do teste MEEM revelaram que os escores no período pós intervenção foram estatisticamente significantes, e estas diferenças ocorreram independente do sexo e da faixa etária. No questionário SF 36, os resultados de seis dos oito aspectos analisados revelaram resultados estatisticamente significantes no período pós intervenção, sendo capacidade funcional, aspecto físico, vitalidade, aspecto emocional, aspecto social e saúde mental. Os aspectos dor e saúde geral não apresentaram resultados significantes no período pós, no entanto no aspecto dor os idosos do grupo 2 apresentaram resultados significantes no período pós. Conclusão: Há menor autopercepção das restrições de participação após a intervenção fonoaudiológica nas Escalas Social e Emocional do questionário HHIE. Os idosos do sexo masculino apresentam maior autopercepção das restrições de participação na Escala Emocional e Escala Social, no período pré intervenção. Os idosos do Grupo 2 apresentam maior auto percepção da restrição de participação na Escala Emocional no período pré. Os idosos revelaram melhores resultados no teste MEEM no período pós, independente do sexo e faixa etária. Há melhora na qualidade de vida demonstrada nos Aspectos Capacidade Funcional, Físico, Vitalidade, Emocional, Social e Saúde Mental do questionário SF36 no período pós, independentemente do sexo e faixa etária. / The objective of this research was to study the effects of audiologic rehabilitation through hearing aids on quality of life of the elderly, according to gender and age. Method: The study included 50 elderly, 23 were female and 27 male. The patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 - includes 24 seniors, 11 females and 13 males aged 60 to 74 years and Group 2 (G2) - composed of 26 seniors, 12 females and 14 male, aged over 75 years. The patients were evaluated before the hearing aids fitting and a year after the adaptation of hearing aids, through questionnaires, HHIE and SF 36, and test MMSE. Bi-monthly follow-ups were conducted to ensure the effective use of hearing aids. Results: Analysis of HHIE revealed that the scores of the Emotional and Social Scales in the period after intervention were statistically significant in both age groups, both male and female. The test results showed that the MMSE scores in the period after intervention were statistically significant, and this difference was independent of sex and age. In SF 36, the results of six of the eight aspects studied showed statistically significant results in the post intervention, and functional ability, physical appearance, vitality, emotional aspects, social aspects and mental health. Aspects pain and general health showed no significant result in the post, however aspect pain in the elderly group 2 showed significant results in the post. Conclusion: There is little self-perception of participation restrictions after audiologic rehabilitation in the Social and Emotional Scales of HHIE. Elderly men have a greater self-perception of the restrictions on participation in the emotional aspect and social aspect, in the pre intervention. Elderly Group 2 have higher self-perception of the restriction of participation in the emotional aspect in the period before. The elderly showed better results in the MMSE test in the post regardless of sex and age. There is improvement in quality of life demonstrated in the aspects Functional Capacity, Physical, Vitality, Emotional, Social and Mental Health in the SF-36 questionnaire in the period after regardless of sex and age. / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

PURPOSE: Analyze children and teenagers profile, hearing aids users, assisted by the program of health care hearing of Federal University of Santa Maria (FUSM), in order to verify hearing aid use related aspects, maintenance and therapeutic monitoring, as well as to evaluate the benefits granted by the sound amplification in this group of study. METHODS: 70 individuals with age between 3 and 18 and their relatives took part of the program. For all the individuals was applied an anamnesis with questions relative to the socioeconomic conditions of them; to the developing and school performance of the patient; to the use and maintenance of hearing aids; to the use of resources from the local community to speech language therapy and access to specialists; it was verified the technical conditions of the hearing aids, too. To assess the benefit provided by the hearing aids the Infant Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) was applied to children under four years old; to children between 04 and 07 years old the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) was applied; and for the individuals between 08 and 14 years old the benefit questionnaire assessing in children and teenagers proposed by Boscolo et al (2006). RESULTS: 6 preschool (8,6%), 34 children (48,6%) and 30 teenagers (42,9%) were appraised. Almost 40% of the individuals had a profound degree of hearing loss; 91,4% of the individuals possessed families with incomes around 1 to 3 minimum salary; 80% of the individuals attended the elementary school; nearly 80% of the individuals used to utilize efficiently the hearing aids; and around 20% of the individuals found any hearing aids maintenance difficulty on their cities; 55,75 of the individuals received speech- language therapy, but 44,3% did not receive this attendance. Only one individual could be evaluated through IT-MAIS scale, which had punctuation equal to 0 (zero). The MAIS scale was applied to 10 individuals, obtaining a medium punctuation equals to 19,9. By the benefit questionnaire assessing in children and teenagers proposed by Boscolo et al (2006) 52 individuals were assessed, in which it was certified that in all the analyzed items, the positive answers prevailed. CONCLUSION: It was evident that most individuals were located in the age group from 6 to 12 years old, as well as they possessed profound degree sensorineural kind of hearing loss and were part of families with low incomes and possessed a satisfactory school performance. Also, it was verified that most of children and teenagers used to utilize efficiently the hearing aids and the benefit granted by the amplification could be observed in different daily situations, both from the perspective of the patient and his family / OBJETIVOS: analisar o perfil de crianças e jovens, usuários de próteses auditivas, atendidos no programa de atenção à saúde auditiva da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), verificar aspectos relacionados ao uso da prótese auditiva, manutenção e acompanhamento terapêutico, bem como, avaliar o benefício proporcionado pela amplificação sonora neste grupo de estudo. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: participaram deste estudo 70 indivíduos com idade entre 03 e 18 anos e seus familiares, aos quais foi aplicada uma anamnese contendo questões referentes às condições socioeconômicas destes; ao desenvolvimento e desempenho escolar do paciente; ao uso e manutenção das próteses auditivas; ao uso de recursos da comunidade para terapia fonoaudiológica e ao acesso a especialistas; também, foram verificadas as condições técnicas das próteses auditivas. Para avaliar o benefício proporcionado pelas próteses auditivas foi aplicada para as crianças com menos de 04 anos a Escala de Integração Auditiva Significativa para Crianças Pequenas (IT-MAIS); para as crianças de 04 a 07 anos a Escala de Integração Auditiva Significativa (MAIS); e para os indivíduos de 08 a 14 anos o questionário de avaliação do benefício em crianças e jovens, proposto por Boscolo et al (2006). RESULTADOS: foram avaliados 6 pré-escolares (8,6%), 34 crianças (48,6%) e 30 adolescentes (42,9%). Observou-se que cerca de 40% dos indivíduos possuíam perda auditiva de grau profundo; 91,4% dos indivíduos possuíam famílias com renda de 1 a 3 salários mínimos; 80% dos indivíduos freqüentavam o ensino fundamental; 67,1 % dos pacientes possuíam desempenho escolar satisfatório; cerca de 80% dos indivíduos faziam uso efetivo da prótese auditiva; cerca de 20% dos indivíduos encontraram dificuldade de manutenção das próteses auditivas em seu município; 55,7% dos indivíduos recebiam tratamento fonoaudiológico, porém 44,3% não recebiam esse acompanhamento. Somente 1 indivíduo pôde ser avaliado através da escala IT-MAIS, o qual obteve a pontuação 0 (zero), indicando ausência dos comportamentos avaliados pela escala. A escala MAIS foi aplicada a 10 indivíduos, obtendo-se uma pontuação média de 19,9. Foram avaliados 52 indivíduos, através do questionário de avaliação do benefício em crianças e jovens, proposto por Boscolo et al. (2006), tendo sido verificado que em todos os itens analisados (ambiente doméstico, escolar e social), as respostas positivas, relacionadas à presença de benefício proporcionado pelas próteses, foram preponderantes CONCLUSÕES: Evidenciou-se que a maioria dos indivíduos situava-se na faixa etária dos 06 a 12 anos, possuíam perda auditiva do tipo neurossensorial de grau profundo, faziam parte de famílias de baixa renda e possuíam desempenho escolar satisfatório. Também verificou-se que, a maioria das crianças e jovens, fazia uso efetivo das próteses auditivas e o benefício proporcionado pela amplificação, pôde ser evidenciado em diferentes situações da vida diária, tanto pela ótica do paciente, quanto de sua família.

Para que o indivíduo esteja engajado no uso do Aparelho de Amplificação Sonora Individual (AASI), é necessário que esteja motivado no seu processo de reabilitação e o profissional, tendo como ponto de partida a identificação do estágio motivacional do paciente, poderá apoiá-lo ao longo desse processo. Neste estudo foram realizados 2 experimentos distintos. O experimento 1 teve como objetivo caracterizar os perfis estabelecidos pela análise de clusters da Escala de Estágios de Mudança para Deficientes Auditivos (URICA-Audição), com base nos estágios motivacionais para a mudança em pacientes com deficiência auditiva. O experimento 2 teve como objetivo verificar se a URICA-Audição é sensível na identificação dos estágios de mudança em indivíduos submetidos à reabilitação auditiva. No experimento 1, foram analisados 200 protocolos preenchidos por indivíduos candidatos e usuários de AASI, com idade entre 24 e 94 anos, sendo 52 candidatos e 148 usuários de AASI há pelo menos um mês. Foi aplicada a URICA-Audição, composta por 25 itens divididos em cinco subescalas, com cinco itens cada: Pré-contemplação, Contemplação, Preparação, Ação e Manutenção. Para a análise dos resultados, foi realizada a Análise de Cluster Hierárquica por meio do método de centroides. Esta análise resultou em um total de 16 clusters distintos e, na solução encontrada, 167 sujeitos (83,5% da amostra) foram distribuídos em 8 clusters principais que continham mais de 10 participantes cada; 21 sujeitos (10,5% da amostra) se distribuíram em outros 3 clusters menores com 6 a 9 participantes; e 12 sujeitos (6% da amostra) se distribuíram em 5 clusters com 1 a 4 participantes cada. Dessa forma, verificou-se que os perfis dos pacientes subdividem-se em mais do que apenas 4 ou 5 estágios, como que em um continuum e, que a URICA-Audição é uma medida que pode, potencialmente, ser utilizada para avaliar onde os pacientes encontram-se no decorrer do seu processo de reabilitação auditiva. No experimento 2, foi realizado um estudo com avaliação pré e pósintervenção em usuários de AASI. Os participantes participaram em 4 sessões de reabilitação auditiva e responderam questionários avaliativos no início e no final da pesquisa. Os resultados indicaram que houve diferença nos momentos pré e pós-intervenção, no fator Ação/Manutenção da amostra estudada, assim como, na prontidão para a mudança do grupo. Houve correlação significante entre o tempo de uso do AASI na pós-intervenção com o estágio de Ação/Manutenção. Toda a amostra do presente estudo teve progressão nos estágios de mudança após a reabilitação auditiva. Apesar da amostra reduzida, foi possível realizar um estudo de reabilitação auditiva utilizando os preceitos do MTT, no entanto, é necessária a realização de outros estudos visando estabelecer estratégias de aconselhamento em reabilitação auditiva para cada estágio de mudança de comportamento. / In order for the individual to be engaged in the use of the Hearing Aid (HA), it is necessary that he is motivated in his rehabilitation process and starting with the identification of the patient\'s motivational stage the professional can support him throughout this process. There were performed two different experiments in this study. Experiment 1 aimed to characterize the profiles established by the clusters analysis of the Stages of Change for the Hearing Impaired Scale (URICA-Hearing) based on the motivational stages for change in patients with hearing impaired. Experiment 2 had as objective to verify if the URICA-Hearing is sensitive in the identification of the stages of change in individuals submitted to auditory rehabilitation. In the Experiment 1, two hundred protocols were filled out by candidates and users of HA, aged between 24 and 94 years, of which 52 were candidates and 148 were users of HA for at least one month. It was applied the URICA-Hearing that is composed of 25 items divided into five subscales, with five items each subscale: Pre-contemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action and Maintenance. For the analysis of the results, the Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was performed by means of the centroid method. This analysis resulted in a total of 16 distinct clusters and, in the solution found, 167 subjects (83.5% of the sample) were distributed in 8 main clusters that contained more than 10 participants each; 21 subjects (10.5% of the sample) were distributed in 3 other smaller clusters with 6 to 9 participants; and 12 subjects (6% of the sample) were distributed in 5 clusters with 1 to 4 participants each. Thus, it was verified that patients\' profiles were subdivided into more than 4 or 5 stages, as in a continuum, and that URICA-Hearing is a measure that can potentially be used to assess where the patients are in the course of their auditory rehabilitation process. In Experiment 2, an study with pre and post-intervention evaluation was performed in HA users. Subjects participated in 4 sessions of auditory rehabilitation and answered evaluative questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of the research. The results indicated that there were differences in the pre and post-intervention moments, in the Action/Maintenance factor as well as in the readiness to change of the studied sample. There was a significant correlation between the time of use of the HA in the post-intervention with the Action/Maintenance stage. All the sample of the present study had progression in the stages of change after the auditory rehabilitation. Despite the reduced sample, it was possible to perform a hearing rehabilitation study using the TTM precepts, however, it is necessary to carry out other studies aimed at establishing auditory rehabilitation counseling strategies for each stage of behavior change.

A perda auditiva unilateral (PAUn) é caracterizada pela diminuição da audição em apenas uma orelha. Indivíduos com este tipo de perda auditiva podem apresentar comprometimento nas habilidades auditivas de localização sonora, processamento temporal, ordenação e resolução temporal. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar as habilidades auditivas de ordenação temporal, resolução temporal e localização sonora, antes e após a adaptação do aparelho de amplificação sonora individual (AASI). Foram avaliados 22 indivíduos, com idades entre 18 e 60 anos, com diagnóstico de PAUn sensorioneural ou mista, de graus leve a severo. O estudo foi dividido em duas etapas: a pré e a pós-adaptação de AASI. Em ambas as etapas, os indivíduos foram submetidos a uma anamnese, aplicação do Questionário de Habilidade Auditiva da Localização da fonte sonora, avaliação simplificada do processamento auditivo (ASPA) e Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT). O presente estudo encontrou diferença estatisticamente significante na avaliação da ASPA, exceto no teste de memória para sons não verbais em sequência (TMSnV), no RGDT e no Questionário de Habilidade Auditiva da Localização Sonora. A conclusão do estudo foi que com o uso efetivo do AASI, indivíduos com PAUn apresentaram melhora nas habilidades auditivas de localização sonora, ordenação e resolução temporal. / The Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) is characterized by decreased hearing in one ear. In individuals with this type of hearing loss the hearing abilities of sound localization, and temporal processing, ordering and temporal resolution, are affected. The objective of this study was to assess the hearing abilities of temporal ordering, temporal resolution and sound localization before and after the fitting of a hearing aid (HA). They evaluated 22 subjects, aged 18 to 60 years, diagnosed with sensorineural or mixed UHL, from mild to severe degrees. The study was divided into two stages: the pre and post-adaptation of HA. In both phases, subjects were submitted to an interview, application of Questionnarie for Desabilities Associated with Impaired Auditory Localization, auditory processing screening protocol (APSP) and Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT). This study found no statistically significant difference in the evaluation of APSP except in the memory test for non-verbal sounds in sequence, in RGDT and Questionnarie for Desabilities Associated with Impaired Auditory Localization. The conclusion was that with the effective use of hearing aids, individuals with UHL showed improvement in the auditory abilities of sound localization, ordering and temporal resolution.