Central auditory processing in normal-hearing elderly adults

Central auditory and linguistic functions were assessed in a group of 25 essentially normal-hearing, cognitively intact elderly adults. Inclusion in the study required normal performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination Procedures used to evaluate central auditory performance included monosyllabic word lists, the Synthetic Sentence Identification-Ipsilateral Competing Message (SSI-ICM) test, the Dichotic Digits test and the Staggered Spondaic Word test. Linguistic competence was assessed utilizing subtests of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia test and the Revised Token test. Results indicate that central auditory involvement can occur without a concomitant decline in peripheral hearing sensitivity, cognitive function, or linguistic competence. Our findings also suggest, that for the type of individuals included in this study, the SSI-ICM appears to be the most sensitive measure to changes in central auditory processing abilities with advancing age.