Objective and Subjective Hearing Difficulties Are Associated With Lower Inhibitory Control.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Audiology
• Psychology

Background:

• Hearing loss is a growing concern, particularly among middle-aged and older adults.
• Existing research indicates a potential link between hearing impairment and cognitive decline.
• Variability in study findings suggests the need to account for confounding demographic and health factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between hearing abilities and cognitive interference in middle-aged to older adults.
• To examine the influence of demographic and health factors on this relationship.
• To explore potential sex differences in the association between hearing and cognitive interference.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 149 middle-aged to older adults completed web-based assessments.
• Measures included speech-in-noise (SiN) performance, self-reported hearing difficulties, and auditory/visual cognitive interference (Stroop) tasks.
• Statistical analyses controlled for age, sex, education, depression, anxiety, and self-rated health.

Main Results:

• Objective SiN difficulties varied by sex.
• Demographic and health factors, except education, affected self-reported hearing difficulties.
• Controlled analyses revealed small but significant links between hearing measures and cognitive interference.
• Sex-specific analyses showed distinct relationships: spatial hearing and SiN predicted inhibitory control in females, while speech difficulty predicted it in males.

Conclusions:

• Controlling for participant characteristics is vital when examining hearing and cognition relationships.
• Web-based tasks provide a feasible and accessible method for assessing hearing loss effects on cognition.
• This approach enables future online screening for cognitive impacts of hearing impairment.