Ramadas Vaishnavi, Vaidyanath Ramya, Uppunda Ajith Kumar, Viswanathan Sushma
Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Department of Audiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India.
Am J Audiol. 2025 Mar 3;34(1):72-83. doi: 10.1044/2024_AJA-24-00069. Epub 2024 Nov 26.
This study aimed to profile and compare the auditory processing and working memory skills of young and older adults with near-normal hearing thresholds (up to 2000 Hz) and cognition. This was done to investigate the effect of aging on these skills despite exhibiting near-normal peripheral hearing in low frequencies and normal cognitive skills.
Twenty-five young adults (18 to 35 years) and 35 older adults (56 to 79 years) were recruited for the study. They were screened for near-normal hearing thresholds (up to 2000 Hz) as well as cognition, and written informed consent was obtained. A battery of auditory processing and working memory tests were administered to the participants. The responses obtained were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. Principal component analysis (PCA) was also carried out to examine any relationship between the various auditory processes and the cognitive skills.
The young adults had superior performance compared to older adults on most of the tasks. PCA revealed the influence of working memory on performance in most tests of auditory processing in young adults and to a lesser extent in older adults.
This study aimed to assess and compare the auditory processing and working memory skills of young and older adults with normal hearing and cognition. Overall, young adults demonstrated superior performance compared to older adults across the tasks. The results of PCA indicated that the young adults utilized their cognitive resources better for auditory processing compared to the older adults. These findings suggest a need for tailored interventions targeting both auditory processing and working memory, especially among older adults, and highlight the importance of considering age-related differences in these cognitive processes when interpreting auditory processing assessments.
本研究旨在剖析和比较听力阈值接近正常（高达2000赫兹）的年轻人和老年人的听觉处理与工作记忆技能以及认知情况。这样做是为了调查衰老对这些技能的影响，尽管在低频段表现出接近正常的外周听力且认知技能正常。
招募了25名年轻人（18至35岁）和35名老年人（56至79岁）参与该研究。对他们进行了接近正常听力阈值（高达2000赫兹）以及认知方面的筛查，并获得了书面知情同意书。对参与者进行了一系列听觉处理和工作记忆测试。使用曼 - 惠特尼检验对获得的反应进行比较。还进行了主成分分析（PCA）以检查各种听觉过程与认知技能之间的任何关系。
在大多数任务中，年轻人的表现优于老年人。主成分分析表明，工作记忆对年轻人大多数听觉处理测试的表现有影响，对老年人的影响较小。
本研究旨在评估和比较听力与认知正常的年轻人和老年人的听觉处理与工作记忆技能。总体而言，在各项任务中，年轻人的表现优于老年人。主成分分析结果表明，与老年人相比，年轻人在听觉处理中能更好地利用其认知资源。这些发现表明需要针对听觉处理和工作记忆进行量身定制的干预措施，尤其是在老年人中，并强调在解释听觉处理评估时考虑这些认知过程中与年龄相关差异的重要性。
