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Age effects on measures of auditory duration discrimination
P J Fitzgibbons1, S Gordon-Salant
1Gallaudet University, Center for Auditory & Speech Sciences, Washington, DC 20002-3695.
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|June 1, 1994
Summary
Elderly individuals show reduced ability to discriminate auditory durations, impacting both tones and silent gaps. Hearing loss did not significantly affect these age-related temporal processing declines.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Psychoacoustics
- Gerontology
Background:
- Auditory temporal sensitivity is crucial for speech and music perception.
- Age-related changes in hearing can impact temporal processing abilities.
- Understanding these changes is vital for developing effective hearing interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related differences in auditory temporal sensitivity.
- To examine the influence of hearing loss on duration discrimination.
- To assess temporal processing across different stimulus durations and frequencies.
Main Methods:
- Psychophysical adaptive forced-choice procedures were used.
- Duration discrimination was measured for tonal stimuli (500 Hz and 4000 Hz).
- Reference durations included 250 msec for tones/intervals and 6.4 msec for silent intervals.
Main Results:
- Elderly listeners demonstrated poorer duration discrimination for 250 msec tones and intervals compared to young adults.
- Hearing loss did not significantly alter duration discrimination performance for the 250 msec reference.
- Discrimination of brief 6.4 msec silent intervals was affected by both age and hearing loss, though inconsistently.
Conclusions:
- Aging significantly impairs auditory duration discrimination, particularly for longer durations.
- Hearing loss's impact on temporal processing is complex and may depend on stimulus characteristics.
- Further research is needed to clarify the interaction between age, hearing loss, and temporal resolution.