So is the hearing “impairment” mentioned here due to lower volume, or not being able to process sounds at the same volume?
Well in a sort of an answer to your question I have severe hearing loss and about twenty-some years ago the audiologist told me that hearing aids would not help because my type of loss meant that I had a serious loss of discrimination. In other words raising the volume didn’t help because I couldn’t understand the words. Fast forward to 4 years ago when I did get hearing aids, and the technology has improved dramatically.
It’s no panacea, but it has made of significant difference in my quality of life. I did not buy the most expensive, but what I have has 96 separate adjustable frequencies. I don’t recall what the maximum number frequencies are available in the more costly ones.
The new work at MIT which promises to regenerate hearing won’t do me any good because it’s 10 or 15 years out at least before it’s available to the public. I’m already 70 so that tells you where I’m going to be when it comes out LOL