Evaluation of the use of a new compact disc for auditory perceptual assessment in the elderly

The present study examined the performance of 40 normal-hearing young adults and 38 elderly adults, some normal hearing and some hearing impaired, on the Department of Veterans Affairs' new compact disc (VA-CD) for auditory perceptual assessment. Principal-components factor analyses were performed on the test scores from each group of subjects with very similar results obtained from each group in terms of the number of factors identified (3), the percentage of variance explained by these factors individually and collectively (about 72%), and the association of various test scores with each factor. The 10 tests examined here were found to be associated with three underlying factors identified as a general speech-understanding ability (about 42% of variance), temporal sequencing capacity (about 18% of variance), and processing ability under conditions of dichotic competition (about 12% of variance). Among the elderly, hearing loss was strongly and negatively associated with general speech-recognition ability, whereas age was moderately associated with the other two factors. Test scores for several measures of auditory perceptual processing were negatively affected by the presence of peripheral hearing loss in the elderly even when administered at the highest recommended presentation level (90 dB SPL). In addition, some tests among those examined were found to have inadequate test-retest reliability for clinical use with the elderly.