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Pure-tone air conduction thresholds, as well as speech detection thresholds, were obtained from both ears of 10 profoundly deaf individuals before and after the administration of a local anesthetic in two conditions: under earphones, and while wearing a conventional-type hearing aid. The results indicated only minimal differences between the pre-anesthetic and post-anesthetic thresholds. These findings support the contention that high intensity, low frequency thresholds in the profoundly deaf are primarily auditory in nature and do not contain significant vibratory components. The continued use of hearing aids with profoundly deaf children is recommended.