Detection of dynamic changes in interaural delay by older adults (L)
Kourosh Saberi1, Haleh Farahbod1, Katie Turner1
1Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|November 1, 2022
Summary
Older adults can detect sound motion using low-frequency hearing cues. Their ability to perceive acoustic source movement is similar to younger adults, unaffected by age-related hearing loss.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Acoustic Perception
Background:
- Aging can affect hearing, particularly high-frequency sounds.
- Binaural hearing relies on timing differences between ears for sound localization.
- Detecting sound motion is crucial for environmental awareness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate motion detection in older adults with intact low-frequency hearing.
- To compare motion detection abilities between older and younger adults.
- To understand the role of binaural timing cues in auditory motion perception.
Main Methods:
- Used dynamically varying interaural delays to assess sound motion detection.
- Employed a two-alternative forced-choice task to measure thresholds.
- Tested adults aged 48-72 with relatively intact low-frequency hearing.
Main Results:
- Motion detection thresholds were significantly higher than stationary localization thresholds.
- No correlation was found between age and motion detection ability in the tested range.
- Older and younger adults exhibited similar motion detection thresholds.
Conclusions:
- Older adults can effectively detect acoustic source motion using low-frequency binaural cues.
- Low-frequency binaural timing appears resilient to age-related high-frequency hearing loss.
- Auditory motion perception may rely on preserved low-frequency processing in aging.
