Audiology and speech-language pathology faculty Sharon Miller, Erin Schafer and Boji Lam are leading a multi-year study funded by the Hearing Aid Industry Research Consortium examining what cognitive and emotional performance changes occur during hearing aid adoption.

Through a series of study sessions and hearing aid-use monitoring, preliminary results show that hearing aid users have more ease with communication, increased fluid cognition and improved overall emotional health.

"We have a very low adoption rate for hearing aids in the U.S.," Miller says. "Typically, only 30% of adults who would benefit from hearing aids actually get them, so we're hopeful the results of our research will promote better adoption and success with hearing aids."