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Age-dependent changes in temporal-fine-structure processing in the absence of peripheral hearing loss
American Journal of Audiology
|August 27, 2013
Summary
Temporal-fine-structure (TFS) processing ability declines with age, even in individuals with normal hearing. This decline begins in young adulthood and impacts speech understanding in noise.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Human Aging Research
- Psychoacoustics
Background:
- Auditory processing abilities can decline with age, even in individuals with normal hearing sensitivity.
- Conventional audiometric assessments may not capture age-related changes in suprathreshold auditory processing.
- Difficulties understanding speech in noisy environments are common in older adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the age-related decline in temporal-fine-structure (TFS) cue processing in adults with normal hearing.
- To determine the age at which TFS processing deficits become apparent.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design.
- Assessed TFS sensitivity in 102 normal-hearing adults (ages 18-90).
- Utilized two psychophysical tests for monaural and binaural TFS processing.
Main Results:
- Both monaural and binaural TFS sensitivity showed a gradual decline starting in young adulthood.
- Significant TFS deficits were observed as early as early midlife (ages 40-49).
- TFS sensitivity was not correlated with absolute hearing sensitivity at the test frequency.
Conclusions:
- Suprathreshold auditory processing, including TFS sensitivity, declines across adulthood even with normal peripheral hearing.
- Age-related TFS deficits may contribute to speech-in-noise difficulties in older adults.
- Age-matched groups are crucial for comparing normal and impaired hearing.
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