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An introduction to the second Starkey Research Summit.

PURPOSE
In the coming decades, Americans with hearing and cognitive deficits will represent a growing proportion of the population. This article describes the rationale and goals of the second Starkey Research Summit, which was convened to better understand the challenges that an aging demographic represents to the future of hearing health care.


METHOD
A multidisciplinary group of scientists representing audiology, cognitive science, psychology, aging, and hearing science met in the fall of 2011 to explore key issues associated with the convergence of aging, hearing loss, and cognitive deficit.


RESULTS
Four major topic areas were identified for discussion and further exploration: (a) the effects of aging on auditory processing and cognition; (b) the effects of hearing technology on auditory processing and cognition in the elderly; (c) the effects of training on auditory processing and cognition in the elderly; and (d) the effects of aging on hearing help-seeking behavior.


CONCLUSION
A brief overview of each of the four major topic areas, to include the identification of unmet research needs, was prepared and is included in this issue of the American Journal of Audiology.