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Cognitive Flexibility and Inhibition in Individuals with Age-Related Hearing Loss
Shraddha A Shende1, Lydia T Nguyen2, Elizabeth A Lydon1
1Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
Older adults with mild hearing loss show slower inhibitory control and more errors on cognitive tasks. Poorer hearing is linked to reduced cognitive flexibility and inhibition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) affects cognitive control, but mild, unaided ARHL is understudied.
- Cognitive control encompasses processes like cognitive flexibility and inhibition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cognitive flexibility and inhibition in older adults with mild, unaided ARHL.
- To compare cognitive performance between individuals with mild ARHL and normal hearing (NH) controls.
- To explore the relationship between hearing ability and cognitive control.
Main Methods:
- 21 older adults with mild ARHL and 18 NH controls participated.
- Comprehensive audiological and cognitive evaluations were performed.
- Tests included Trail Making Test-B, Verbal Fluency, Stroop, and Go/NoGo tasks.
Main Results:
- The mild ARHL group exhibited significantly longer completion times on the Stroop task.
- The ARHL group made more errors on NoGo trials in Go/NoGo tasks.
- Poorer peripheral and central hearing correlated with reduced cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control.
Conclusions:
- Mild ARHL is associated with slower and less efficient inhibitory control.
- Hearing ability is linked to cognitive flexibility and inhibitory function in older adults.
- Findings reinforce the connection between hearing and cognition in aging populations.
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