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The article focuses on how the aging process effects the hearing abilities of older people. It is noted that hearing impairment can result from changes in body chemistry or structure or changes to the auditory system. Different methods for measuring brain functions, including electro- and magneto-encephalography (EEG/MEG) are available to audiologists. It is noted that using hearing aids to improve the hearing of older people may not effect comprehension.

The article reports on the effects of auditory stimulation on the brain and experiments that use hearing aids as a model for examining the effects of amplification on the human central auditory system (CAS), as of May 2007. The implications for both basic and clinical science of acoustic stimulation on the auditory system are addressed, including long-term CAS activity changes in people with hearing aids, and hearing aid amplification and auditory system maturation.