Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
Detecting and Learning New Words: The Impact of Advancing Age and Hearing Loss
Andrea L Pittman1, Elizabeth C Stewart1, Ian S Odgear1
1Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Purpose:
Lexical acquisition was examined in children and adults to determine if the skills needed to detect and learn new words are retained in the adult years. In addition to advancing age, the effects of hearing loss were also examined.
Method:
Measures of word recognition, detection of nonsense words within sentences, and novel word learning were obtained in quiet for 20 children with normal hearing and 21 with hearing loss (8-12 years) as well as for 15 adults with normal hearing and 17 with hearing loss (58-79 years). Listeners with hearing loss were tested with and without high-frequency acoustic energy to identify the type of amplification (narrowband, wideband, or frequency lowering) that yielded optimal performance.
Results:
No differences were observed between the adults and children with normal hearing except for the adults' better nonsense word detection. The poorest performance was observed for the listeners with hearing loss in the unaided condition. Performance improved significantly with amplification to levels at or near that of their counterparts with normal hearing. With amplification, the adults performed as well as the children on all tasks except for word recognition.
Conclusions:
Adults retain the skills necessary for lexical acquisition regardless of hearing status. However, uncorrected hearing loss nearly eliminates these skills.
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Hearing
Interference and Decay
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

