People with hearing loss who use hearing aids can understand speech better—by a noticeable amount—in quiet rooms and slightly better in noisy places where people are talking, making conversations clearer.

No matter how old you are, if you have hearing loss and use a hearing aid, your age won’t change how well you understand speech or how hard you feel you have to listen.

People with hearing loss say it feels easier to listen when they wear hearing aids, even though tests don’t show their brains are working any better at processing sound.

Wearing hearing aids doesn’t seem to make your memory or thinking skills better on tests, even though you might feel like it’s easier to listen and understand people.