Roup Christina M, Lander Devan, Smith Sherri L
Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus.
Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke Aging Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Am J Audiol. 2025 Sep 2;34(3):516-527. doi: 10.1044/2025_AJA-25-00024. Epub 2025 May 22.
The association between working memory and the self-perception of hearing difficulties in older adults is not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the relation between auditory working memory and self-reported hearing difficulties in older adults with varying degrees of pure-tone hearing loss.
Twenty-four older adults with varying degrees of sensorineural hearing loss participated. Self-reported hearing difficulties were assessed using the Adult Auditory Performance Scale (AAPS). Auditory working memory was measured using the Word Auditory Recognition and Recall Measure (WARRM).
Results revealed significant negative correlations between the WARRM recall score and the AAPS global, easy listening, noise, and complex listening scores. Pure-tone hearing was significantly correlated with self-reported hearing difficulty in easy listening environments (e.g., quiet and ideal listening) but was not for noise or complex listening. Regression analyses revealed that pure-tone hearing accounted for a significant amount of variability associated with the AAPS easy listening, whereas WARRM recall scores accounted for a significant amount of variability associated with AAPS noise and complex listening scores.
Findings suggest that cognitive factors, such as auditory working memory, contribute to the self-perception of hearing difficulty among older adults. Routine clinical measurement of self-reported hearing difficulties and auditory working memory may provide a more global assessment of the hearing challenges faced by older adults with pure-tone hearing loss.
老年人工作记忆与听力困难自我认知之间的关联尚未得到充分理解。因此，本研究的目的是调查不同程度纯音听力损失的老年人听觉工作记忆与自我报告的听力困难之间的关系。
24名不同程度感音神经性听力损失的老年人参与了研究。使用成人听觉表现量表（AAPS）评估自我报告的听力困难。使用单词听觉识别与回忆测量（WARRM）来测量听觉工作记忆。
结果显示，WARRM回忆分数与AAPS整体、轻松聆听、噪声和复杂聆听分数之间存在显著负相关。纯音听力在轻松聆听环境（如安静和理想聆听环境）中与自我报告的听力困难显著相关，但在噪声或复杂聆听环境中则不然。回归分析显示，纯音听力占与AAPS轻松聆听相关的显著变异性，而WARRM回忆分数占与AAPS噪声和复杂聆听分数相关的显著变异性。
研究结果表明，诸如听觉工作记忆等认知因素会影响老年人对听力困难的自我认知。对自我报告的听力困难和听觉工作记忆进行常规临床测量，可能会更全面地评估纯音听力损失老年人所面临的听力挑战。
