It is important to identify a hearing loss as early as possible and to develop a program of auditory training.
Even when the sensory neural loss is relatively flat across the board, discrimination of consonants may not improve due to distortion caused by an imbalance in transduction and/or discharge by the damaged hair cells.
The best way to know if a hearing aid will be of benefit is to be tested with different makes and models by an agency which is not trying to sell one. Many major universities have Speech and Hearing Clinics.
These will provide hearing aid evaluations at reduced cost as a public service.
It is important to identify hearing loss among children as early as possible and to, if necessary, establish a program of amplification and training. This is so that a neural network to support whatever residual hearing may remain can be developed to its maximum capacity.
Even deaf individuals who rely on Sign Language can benefit from the ability to perceive sound.