Hearing Loss and Auditory Training: Why Playing Games is so Helpful

Why auditory brain training that is “gamified” is more likely to be effective than ordinary auditory training for people who have hearing loss: • Playing video games is pleasurable. • Pleasant activities causes the brain to increase production of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that acts as a “messenger” between brain cells. • Research has shown that playing video games increases production of dopamine. • Increased dopamine levels enhance neural plasticity. • Enhanced neural plasticity allows for greater perceptual learning. • Adults with hearing loss have better potential for learning to use their residual hearing when playing auditory brain training games than when engaging in rote auditory training tasks. Ear train the brain: www.clearworks4ears.com