Age-Related Listening Performance Changes Across Adulthood

Area of Science:

• Auditory neuroscience
• Human aging research
• Psychoacoustics

Background:

• Auditory processing abilities naturally change throughout adulthood.
• Understanding age-related auditory changes is crucial for maintaining quality of life.
• Previous research has not comprehensively compared auditory performance across multiple adult age groups with normal hearing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare auditory processing performance across different adult age decades.
• To identify age-related changes in specific auditory functions.
• To investigate the influence of education and working memory on age-related auditory changes.

Main Methods:

• 80 participants with normal hearing were assessed across various age groups.
• Auditory tests included speech-in-noise, dichotic digits, and temporal processing tasks.
• Working memory capacity and self-perceived hearing difficulties were also evaluated.

Main Results:

• Significant age-related differences were found in most auditory tests, except for masking level difference.
• Speech-in-noise performance declined with age, with the youngest group excelling.
• Temporal processing deficits emerged from age 40, and temporal ordering from age 50.
• Higher education and working memory scores correlated with better auditory performance.
• Self-reported hearing difficulties increased with age, irrespective of objective hearing status.

Conclusions:

• Auditory processing shows significant age-related decline, particularly from age 40 onwards.
• Perceived hearing difficulties increase with age, even in individuals with normal hearing.
• Education and working memory are important factors modulating age-related auditory changes.