Effects of Senescent Changes in Audition and Cognition on Spoken Language Comprehension

Age-related differences in processing of emotions in speech disappear with babble noise in the background

Older adults process emotional speech differently than young adults, relying less on prosody (tone) relative to semantics (words). This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these age-related differences via an emotional speech-in-noise test. A sample of 51 young and 47 older adults rated spoken sentences with emotional content on both prosody and semantics, presented on the background of wideband speech-spectrum noise (sensory interference) or on the background of multi-talker babble (sensory/cognitive interference). The presence of wideband noise eliminated age-related differences in semantics but not in prosody when processing emotional speech. Conversely, the presence of babble resulted in the elimination of age-related differences across all measures. The results suggest that both sensory and cognitive-linguistic factors contribute to age-related changes in emotional speech processing. Because real world conditions typically involve noisy background, our results highlight the importance of testing under such conditions.

Used to Be a Dime, Now It's a Dollar: Revised Speech Perception in Noise Key Word Predictability Revisited 40 Years On

PURPOSE

Almost 40 years after its development, in this article, we reexamine the relevance and validity of the ubiquitously used Revised Speech Perception in Noise (R-SPiN) sentence corpus. The R-SPiN corpus includes "high-context" and "low-context" sentences and has been widely used in the field of hearing research to examine the benefit derived from semantic context across English-speaking listeners, but research investigating age differences has yielded somewhat inconsistent findings. We assess the appropriateness of the corpus for use today in different English-language cultures (i.e., British and American) as well as for older and younger adults.

METHOD

Two hundred forty participants, including older (60-80 years) and younger (19-31 years) adult groups in the the United Kingdom and United States, completed a cloze task consisting of R-SPiN sentences with the final word removed. Cloze, as a measure of predictability, and entropy, as a measure of response uncertainty, were compared between culture and age groups.

RESULTS

Most critically, of the 200 "high-context" stimuli, only around half were assessed as highly predictable for older adults (United Kingdom: 109; United States: 107); and fewer still, for younger adults (United Kingdom: 75; United States: 81). We also found dominant responses to these "high-context" stimuli varied between cultures, with U.S. responses being more likely to match the original R-SPiN target.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the issue of incomplete transferability of corpus items across English-language cultures as well as diminished equivalency for older and younger adults. By identifying relevant items for each population, this work could facilitate the interpretation of inconsistent findings in the literature, particularly relating to age effects.

Theta and alpha oscillatory signatures of auditory sensory and cognitive loads during complex listening

The neuronal signatures of sensory and cognitive load provide access to brain activities related to complex listening situations. Sensory and cognitive loads are typically reflected in measures like response time (RT) and event-related potentials (ERPs) components. It's, however, strenuous to distinguish the underlying brain processes solely from these measures. In this study, along with RT- and ERP-analysis, we performed time-frequency analysis and source localization of oscillatory activity in participants performing two different auditory tasks with varying degrees of complexity and related them to sensory and cognitive load. We studied neuronal oscillatory activity in both periods before the behavioral response (pre-response) and after it (post-response). Robust oscillatory activities were found in both periods and were differentially affected by sensory and cognitive load. Oscillatory activity under sensory load was characterized by decrease in pre-response (early) theta activity and increased alpha activity. Oscillatory activity under cognitive load was characterized by increased theta activity, mainly in post-response (late) time. Furthermore, source localization revealed specific brain regions responsible for processing these loads, such as temporal and frontal lobe, cingulate cortex and precuneus. The results provide evidence that in complex listening situations, the brain processes sensory and cognitive loads differently. These neural processes have specific oscillatory signatures and are long lasting, extending beyond the behavioral response.

Sensorineural hearing loss alters auditory discrimination of natural soundscapes

OBJECTIVE

The ability to discriminate natural soundscapes recorded in a temperate terrestrial biome was measured in 15 hearing-impaired (HI) listeners with bilateral, mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss and 15 normal-hearing (NH) controls.

DESIGN

Soundscape discrimination was measured using a three-interval oddity paradigm and the method of constant stimuli. On each trial, sequences of 2-second recordings varying the habitat, season and period of the day were presented diotically at a nominal SPL of 60 or 80 dB.

RESULTS

Discrimination scores were above chance level for both groups, but they were poorer for HI than NH listeners. On average, the scores of HI listeners were relatively well accounted for by those of NH listeners tested with stimuli spectrally-shaped to match the frequency-dependent reduction in audibility of individual HI listeners. However, the scores of HI listeners were not significantly correlated with pure-tone audiometric thresholds and age.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that the ability to discriminate natural soundscapes associated with changes in habitat, season and period of the day is disrupted but it is not abolished. The deficits of the HI listeners are partly accounted for by reduced audibility. Supra-threshold auditory deficits and individual listening strategies may also explain differences between NH and HI listeners.

Head movement and its relation to hearing

Head position at any point in time plays a fundamental role in shaping the auditory information that reaches a listener, information that continuously changes as the head moves and reorients to different listening situations. The connection between hearing science and the kinesthetics of head movement has gained interest due to technological advances that have increased the feasibility of providing behavioral and biological feedback to assistive listening devices that can interpret movement patterns that reflect listening intent. Increasing evidence also shows that the negative impact of hearing deficits on mobility, gait, and balance may be mitigated by prosthetic hearing device intervention. Better understanding of the relationships between head movement, full body kinetics, and hearing health, should lead to improved signal processing strategies across a range of assistive and augmented hearing devices. The purpose of this review is to introduce the wider hearing community to the kinesiology of head movement and to place it in the context of hearing and communication with the goal of expanding the field of ecologically-specific listener behavior.

Recognition of Sentences With Complex Syntax in Speech Babble by Adolescents With Normal Hearing or Cochlear Implants

PURPOSE

General language abilities of children with cochlear implants have been thoroughly investigated, especially at young ages, but far less is known about how well they process language in real-world settings, especially in higher grades. This study addressed this gap in knowledge by examining recognition of sentences with complex syntactic structures in backgrounds of speech babble by adolescents with cochlear implants, and peers with normal hearing.

DESIGN

Two experiments were conducted. First, new materials were developed using young adults with normal hearing as the normative sample, creating a corpus of sentences with controlled, but complex syntactic structures presented in three kinds of babble that varied in voice gender and number of talkers. Second, recognition by adolescents with normal hearing or cochlear implants was examined for these new materials and for sentence materials used with these adolescents at younger ages. Analyses addressed three objectives: (1) to assess the stability of speech recognition across a multiyear age range, (2) to evaluate speech recognition of sentences with complex syntax in babble, and (3) to explore how bottom-up and top-down mechanisms account for performance under these conditions.

RESULTS

Results showed: (1) Recognition was stable across the ages of 10-14 years for both groups. (2) Adolescents with normal hearing performed similarly to young adults with normal hearing, showing effects of syntactic complexity and background babble; adolescents with cochlear implants showed poorer recognition overall, and diminished effects of both factors. (3) Top-down language and working memory primarily explained recognition for adolescents with normal hearing, but the bottom-up process of perceptual organization primarily explained recognition for adolescents with cochlear implants.

CONCLUSIONS

Comprehension of language in real-world settings relies on different mechanisms for adolescents with cochlear implants than for adolescents with normal hearing. A novel finding was that perceptual organization is a critical factor.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21965228.

Relationships between behavioural and self-report measures in speech recognition in noise

OBJECTIVE

Using data from the n200-study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between behavioural (the Swedish HINT and Hagerman speech-in-noise tests) and self-report (Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Questionnaire (SSQ)) measures of listening under adverse conditions.

DESIGN

The Swedish HINT was masked with a speech-shaped noise (SSN), the Hagerman was masked with a SSN and a four-talker babble, and the subscales from the SSQ were used as a self-report measure. The HINT and Hagerman were administered through an experimental hearing aid.

STUDY SAMPLE

This study included 191 hearing aid users with hearing loss (mean PTA4 = 37.6, SD = 10.8) and 195 normally hearing adults (mean PTA4 = 10.0, SD = 6.0).

RESULTS

The present study found correlations between behavioural measures of speech-in-noise and self-report scores of the SSQ in normally hearing individuals, but not in hearing aid users.

CONCLUSION

The present study may help identify relationships between clinically used behavioural measures, and a self-report measure of speech recognition. The results from the present study suggest that use of a self-report measure as a complement to behavioural speech in noise tests might help to further our understanding of how self-report, and behavioural results can be generalised to everyday functioning.

Physical activity moderates the association between white matter hyperintensity burden and cognitive change

Objective

Greater physical activity (PA) could delay cognitive decline, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. White matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden is one of the key brain pathologies that have been shown to predict faster cognitive decline at a late age. One possible pathway is that PA may help maintain cognition by mitigating the detrimental effects of brain pathologies, like WMH, on cognitive change. This study aims to examine whether PA moderates the association between WMH burden and cognitive change.

Materials and methods

This population-based longitudinal study included 198 dementia-free adults aged 20-80 years. Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was assessed by a self-reported questionnaire. Occupational physical activity (OPA) was a factor score measuring the physical demands of each job. Total physical activity (TPA) was operationalized as the average of z-scores of LTPA and OPA. Outcome variables included 5-year changes in global cognition and in four reference abilities (fluid reasoning, processing speed, memory, and vocabulary). Multivariable linear regression models were used to estimate the moderation effect of PA on the association between white matter hyperintensities and cognitive change, adjusting for age, sex, education, and baseline cognition.

Results

Over approximately 5 years, global cognition (p < 0.001), reasoning (p < 0.001), speed (p < 0.001), and memory (p < 0.05) scores declined, and vocabulary (p < 0.001) increased. Higher WMH burden was correlated with more decline in global cognition (Spearman's rho = -0.229, p = 0.001), reasoning (rho = -0.402, p < 0.001), and speed (rho = -0.319, p < 0.001), and less increase in vocabulary (rho = -0.316, p < 0.001). Greater TPA attenuated the association between WMH burden and changes in reasoning (βTPA^*WMH = 0.029, 95% CI = 0.006-0.052, p = 0.013), speed (βTPA^*WMH = 0.035, 95% CI = -0.004-0.065, p = 0.028), and vocabulary (βTPA^*WMH = 0.034, 95% CI = 0.004-0.065, p = 0.029). OPA seemed to be the factor that exerted a stronger moderation on the relationship between WMH burden and cognitive change.

Conclusion

Physical activity may help maintain reasoning, speed, and vocabulary abilities in face of WMH burden. The cognitive reserve potential of PA warrants further examination.

Auditory Cognitive Training Improves Brain Plasticity in Healthy Older Adults: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial

The number of older adults is increasing globally. Aging is associated with cognitive and sensory decline. Additionally, declined auditory performance and cognitive function affect the quality of life of older adults. Therefore, it is important to develop an intervention method to improve both auditory and cognitive performances. The current study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of auditory and cognitive training on auditory ability and cognitive functions in healthy older adults. Fifty healthy older adults were randomly divided into four training groups—an auditory-cognitive training group (AC training; n = 13), an auditory training group (A training; n = 13), a cognitive training group (C training; n = 14), and an active control group (n = 12). During the training period, we reduced the sound intensity level in AC and A training groups and increase training task difficulty in AC, A, and C training groups based on participants’ performance. Cognitive function measures [digit-cancelation test (D-CAT); logical memory (LM); digit span (DS)], auditory measures [pure-tone audiometry (PTA)], and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were performed before and after the training periods. We found three key findings. First, the AC training group showed difference between other training groups (A, C, and active control training groups) in regional gray matter volume (rGMV) in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the left inferior temporal gyrus (L. ITG), the left superior frontal gyrus, the left orbitofrontal cortex, the right cerebellum (lobule 7 Crus 1). Second, the auditory training factor groups (ATFGs, the AC and A training groups) improved auditory measures and increased the rGMV and functional connectivity (FC) in the left temporal pole compared to the non-ATFGs (the C training group and active control group). Third, the cognitive training factor groups (CTFGs; the AC and C training groups) showed statistically significant improvement in cognitive performances in LM and D-CAT compared to the non-CTFGs (the A training group and active control group). Therefore, the auditory training factor and cognitive training factor would be useful in enhancing the quality of life of older adults. The current AC training study, the plasticity of the brain structure was observed after 4 weeks of training.

The role of tone duration in dichotic temporal order judgment II: Extending the boundaries of duration and age

Temporal order judgment (TOJ) measures the ability to correctly perceive the order of consecutive stimuli presented rapidly. Our previous research suggested that the major predictor of auditory dichotic TOJ threshold, a paradigm that requires the identification of the order of two tones, each of which is presented to a different ear, is the time separating the onset of the first tone from the onset of the second tone (stimulus-onset-asynchrony, SOA). Data supporting this finding, however, was based on a young adult population and a tone duration range of 10–40 msec. The current study aimed to evaluate the generalizability of the earlier finding by manipulating the experimental model in two different ways: a) extending the tone duration range to include shorter stimulus durations (3–8 msec; Experiment 1) and b) repeating the identical testing procedure on a different population with temporal processing deficits, i.e., older adults (Experiment 2). We hypothesized that the SOA would predict the TOJ threshold regardless of tone duration and participant age. Experiment 1 included 226 young adults divided into eight groups (each group receiving a different tone duration) with duration ranging from 3–40 msec. Experiment 2 included 98 participants aged 60–75 years, divided into five groups by tone duration (10–40 msec). The results of both experiments confirmed the hypothesis, that the SOA required for performing dichotic TOJ was constant regardless of stimulus duration, for both age groups: about 66.5 msec for the young adults and 33 msec longer (100 msec) for the older adults. This finding suggests that dichotic TOJ threshold is controlled by a general mechanism that changes quantitatively with age. Clinically, this has significance because quantitative changes can be more easily remedied than qualitative changes. Theoretically, our findings show that, with dichotic TOJ, tone duration affects threshold by providing more time between the onsets of the consecutive stimuli to the two ears. The findings also imply that a temporal processing deficit, at least among older adults, does not elicit the use of a different mechanism in order to judge temporal order.

Difficulties Experienced by Older Listeners in Utilizing Voice Cues for Speaker Discrimination

Human listeners are assumed to apply different strategies to improve speech recognition in background noise. Young listeners with normal hearing (NH), e.g., have been shown to follow the voice of a particular speaker based on the fundamental (F0) and formant frequencies, which are both influenced by the gender, age, and size of the speaker. However, the auditory and cognitive processes that underlie the extraction and discrimination of these voice cues across speakers may be subject to age-related decline. The present study aimed to examine the utilization of F0 and formant cues for voice discrimination (VD) in older adults with hearing expected for their age. Difference limens (DLs) for VD were estimated in 15 healthy older adults (65–78 years old) and 35 young adults (18–35 years old) using only F0 cues, only formant frequency cues, and a combination of F0 + formant frequencies. A three-alternative forced-choice paradigm with an adaptive-tracking threshold-seeking procedure was used. Wechsler backward digit span test was used as a measure of auditory working memory. Trail Making Test (TMT) was used to provide cognitive information reflecting a combined effect of processing speed, mental flexibility, and executive control abilities. The results showed that (a) the mean VD thresholds of the older adults were poorer than those of the young adults for all voice cues, although larger variability was observed among the older listeners; (b) both age groups found the formant cues more beneficial for VD, compared to the F0 cues, and the combined (F0 + formant) cues resulted in better thresholds, compared to each cue separately; (c) significant associations were found for the older adults in the combined F0 + formant condition between VD and TMT scores, and between VD and hearing sensitivity, supporting the notion that a decline with age in both top-down and bottom-up mechanisms may hamper the ability of older adults to discriminate between voices. The present findings suggest that older listeners may have difficulty following the voice of a specific speaker and thus implementing doing so as a strategy for listening amid noise. This may contribute to understanding their reported difficulty listening in adverse conditions.

Effects of training and using an audio-tactile sensory substitution device on speech-in-noise understanding

Understanding speech in background noise is challenging. Wearing face-masks, imposed by the COVID19-pandemics, makes it even harder. We developed a multi-sensory setup, including a sensory substitution device (SSD) that can deliver speech simultaneously through audition and as vibrations on the fingertips. The vibrations correspond to low frequencies extracted from the speech input. We trained two groups of non-native English speakers in understanding distorted speech in noise. After a short session (30-45 min) of repeating sentences, with or without concurrent matching vibrations, we showed comparable mean group improvement of 14-16 dB in Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) in two test conditions, i.e., when the participants were asked to repeat sentences only from hearing and also when matching vibrations on fingertips were present. This is a very strong effect, if one considers that a 10 dB difference corresponds to doubling of the perceived loudness. The number of sentence repetitions needed for both types of training to complete the task was comparable. Meanwhile, the mean group SNR for the audio-tactile training (14.7 ± 8.7) was significantly lower (harder) than for the auditory training (23.9 ± 11.8), which indicates a potential facilitating effect of the added vibrations. In addition, both before and after training most of the participants (70-80%) showed better performance (by mean 4-6 dB) in speech-in-noise understanding when the audio sentences were accompanied with matching vibrations. This is the same magnitude of multisensory benefit that we reported, with no training at all, in our previous study using the same experimental procedures. After training, performance in this test condition was also best in both groups (SRT ~ 2 dB). The least significant effect of both training types was found in the third test condition, i.e. when participants were repeating sentences accompanied with non-matching tactile vibrations and the performance in this condition was also poorest after training. The results indicate that both types of training may remove some level of difficulty in sound perception, which might enable a more proper use of speech inputs delivered via vibrotactile stimulation. We discuss the implications of these novel findings with respect to basic science. In particular, we show that even in adulthood, i.e. long after the classical "critical periods" of development have passed, a new pairing between a certain computation (here, speech processing) and an atypical sensory modality (here, touch) can be established and trained, and that this process can be rapid and intuitive. We further present possible applications of our training program and the SSD for auditory rehabilitation in patients with hearing (and sight) deficits, as well as healthy individuals in suboptimal acoustic situations.

Speech Perception in Older Adults: An Interplay of Hearing, Cognition, and Learning?

Older adults with age-related hearing loss exhibit substantial individual differences in speech perception in adverse listening conditions. We propose that the ability to rapidly adapt to changes in the auditory environment (i.e., perceptual learning) is among the processes contributing to these individual differences, in addition to the cognitive and sensory processes that were explored in the past. Seventy older adults with age-related hearing loss participated in this study. We assessed the relative contribution of hearing acuity, cognitive factors (working memory, vocabulary, and selective attention), rapid perceptual learning of time-compressed speech, and hearing aid use to the perception of speech presented at a natural fast rate (fast speech), speech embedded in babble noise (speech in noise), and competing speech (dichotic listening). Speech perception was modeled as a function of the other variables. For fast speech, age [odds ratio (OR) = 0.79], hearing acuity (OR = 0.62), pre-learning (baseline) perception of time-compressed speech (OR = 1.47), and rapid perceptual learning (OR = 1.36) were all significant predictors. For speech in noise, only hearing and pre-learning perception of time-compressed speech were significant predictors (OR = 0.51 and OR = 1.53, respectively). Consistent with previous findings, the severity of hearing loss and auditory processing (as captured by pre-learning perception of time-compressed speech) was strong contributors to individual differences in fast speech and speech in noise perception. Furthermore, older adults with good rapid perceptual learning can use this capacity to partially offset the effects of age and hearing loss on the perception of speech presented at fast conversational rates. Our results highlight the potential contribution of dynamic processes to speech perception.

Revisiting Auditory Profiling: Can Cognitive Factors Improve the Prediction of Aided Speech-in-Noise Outcome?

Hearing aids (HA) are the most common type of rehabilitation treatment for age-related hearing loss. However, HA users often obtain limited benefit from their devices, particularly in noisy environments, and thus many HA candidates do not use them at all. A possible reason for this could be that current HA fittings are audiogram-based, that is, they neglect supra-threshold factors. In an earlier study, an auditory-profiling method was proposed as a basis for more personalized HA fittings. This method classifies HA users into four profiles that differ in terms of hearing sensitivity and supra-threshold hearing abilities. Previously, HA users belonging to these profiles showed significant differences in terms of speech recognition in noise but not subjective assessments of speech-in-noise (SIN) outcome. Moreover, large individual differences within some profiles were observed. The current study therefore explored if cognitive factors can help explain these differences and improve aided outcome prediction. Thirty-nine older HA users completed sets of auditory and SIN tests as well as two tablet-based cognitive measures (the Corsi block-tapping and trail-making tests). Principal component analyses were applied to extract the dominant sources of variance both within individual tests producing many variables and within the three types of tests. Multiple linear regression analyses performed on the extracted components showed that auditory factors were related to aided speech recognition in noise but not to subjective SIN outcome. Cognitive factors were unrelated to aided SIN outcome. Overall, these findings provide limited support for adding those two cognitive tests to the profiling of HA users.

Dual-Task Performance in Hearing-Impaired Older Adults-Study Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Mobile Brain/Body Imaging Study

Background: Hearing impairments are associated with reduced walking performance under Dual-task (DT) conditions. Little is known about the neural representation of DT performance while walking in this target group compared to healthy controls or younger adults. Therefore, utilizing the Mobile Brain/Body Imaging approach (MoBI), we aim at gaining deeper insights into the brain dynamics underlying the interaction of cognitive and motor processes during different DT conditions (visual and auditory) controlling for age and the potential performance decrements of older adults with hearing impairments.

Methods: The cross-sectional study integrates a multifactorial mixed-measure design. Between-subject factors grouping the sample will be age (younger vs. older adults) and hearing impairment (mild vs. not hearing impaired). The within-subject factors will be the task complexity (single- vs. DT) and cognitive task modality (visual vs. auditory). Stimuli of the cognitive task will vary according to the stimulus modality (visual vs. auditory), presentation side (left vs. right), and presentation-response compatibility (ipsilateral vs. contralateral). Analyses of DT costs and underlying neuronal correlates focus either on gait or cognitive performance. Based on an a priori sample size calculation 96 (48 healthy and 48 mildly hearing impaired) community-dwelling older adults (50–70 years) and 48 younger adults (20–30 years) will be recruited. Gait parameters of speed and rhythm will be captured. EEG activity will be recorded using 64 active electrodes.

Discussion: The study evaluates cognitive-motor interference (CMI) in groups of young and older adults as well as older adults with hearing impairment. The underlying processes of the interaction between motor and cognitive tasks will be identified at a behavioral and neurophysiological level comparing an auditory or a visual secondary task. We assume that performance differences are linked to different cognitive-motor processes, i.e., stimulus input, resource allocation, and movement execution. Moreover, for the different DT conditions (auditory vs. visual) we assume performance decrements within the auditory condition, especially for older, hearing-impaired adults. Findings will provide evidence of general mechanisms of CMI (ST vs. DT walking) as well as task-specific effects in dual-task performance while over ground walking.

The PREvention Program for Alzheimer's RElated Delirium (PREPARED) cluster randomized trial: a study protocol

BACKGROUND

Delirium is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among older people admitted to both acute and long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Multicomponent interventions have been shown to reduce delirium incidence in the acute care setting (30-73%) by acting on modifiable risk factors. Little work, however, has focused on using this approach to reduce delirium incidence in LTCFs.

METHODS

The objective is to assess the effectiveness of the multicomponent PREPARED Trial intervention in reducing the following primary outcomes: incidence, severity, duration, and frequency of delirium episodes in cognitively impaired residents. This 4-year, parallel-design, cluster randomized study will involve nursing staff and residents in 45-50 LTCFs in Montreal, Canada. Participating public and private LTCFs (clusters) that provide 24-h nursing care will be assigned to either the PREPARED Trial intervention or the control (usual care) arm of the study using a covariate constrained randomization procedure. Approximately 400-600 LTC residents aged 65 and older with dementia and/or cognitive impairment will be enrolled in the study and followed for 18 weeks. Residents must be at risk of delirium, delirium-free at baseline and have resided at the facility for at least 2 weeks. Residents who are unable to communicate verbally, have a history of specific psychiatric conditions, or are receiving end-of-life care will be excluded. The PREPARED Trial intervention consists of four main components: a decision tree, an instruction manual, a training package, and a toolkit. Primary study outcomes will be assessed weekly. Functional autonomy and cognitive levels will be assessed at the beginning and end of follow-up, while information pertaining to modifiable delirium risk factors, medical consultations, and facility transfers will be collected retrospectively for the duration of the follow-up period. Primary outcomes will be reported at the level of intervention assignment. All researchers analyzing the data will be blinded to group allocation.

DISCUSSION

This large-scale intervention study will contribute significantly to the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines for delirium prevention in this frail elderly population, as it will be the first to evaluate the efficacy of a multicomponent delirium prevention program translated into LTC clinical practice on a large scale.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT03718156 , ClinicalTrials.gov .

Production Improves Visual and Auditory Text Memory in Younger and Older Adults

INTRODUCTION

The production effect refers to memory benefits for materials that were produced (e.g., read aloud) relative to not produced (e.g., read silently) at study. Previous works have found a production benefit for younger and older adults studying written words and for young adults studying written text. The present study aimed to extend these findings by examining the effect of production on text memory in younger and older adults, in the visual, and in the auditory modalities.

METHODS

A group of young adults (n = 30) and a group of older adults (n = 30) learned informational texts, presented either visually or aurally. In each text, half of the sentences were learned by production (reading aloud or writing) and half by no production (reading silently or listening), followed by fill-in-the-blank tests.

RESULTS

An overall memory performance was found to be similar for both groups, with an advantage for the auditory modality. For both groups, more test items were filled in correctly when the relevant information appeared in the produced than in nonproduced sentences, showing the learners' ability to use distinctiveness information. The production effects were larger for older than younger adults, in both modalities.

DISCUSSION

Since older adults are increasingly engage in learning, it is important to develop high-quality structured learning programs for this population. The current results demonstrate the preserved ability of older adults to successfully memorize texts and may guide planning of such programs. Specifically, since learning via the auditory modality yields superior performance for learners across age-groups, it may be recommended for text learning. Because older adults showed larger benefits from active production of the study material, it may be used to better remember educationally relevant material.

Selective attention modulates neural envelope tracking of informationally masked speech in healthy older adults

Speech understanding in noisy situations is compromised in old age. This study investigated the energetic and informational masking components of multi‐talker babble noise and their influence on neural tracking of the speech envelope in a sample of healthy older adults. Twenty‐three older adults (age range 65–80 years) listened to an audiobook embedded in noise while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Energetic masking was manipulated by varying the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) between target speech and background talkers and informational masking was manipulated by varying the number of background talkers. Neural envelope tracking was measured by calculating temporal response functions (TRFs) between speech envelope and EEG. Number of background talkers, but not SNR modulated the amplitude of an earlier (around 50 ms time lag) and a later (around 300 ms time lag) peak in the TRFs. Selective attention, but not working memory or peripheral hearing additionally modulated the amplitude of the later TRF peak. Finally, amplitude of the later TRF peak was positively related to accuracy in the comprehension task. The results suggest that stronger envelope tracking is beneficial for speech‐in‐noise understanding and that selective attention is an important ability supporting speech‐in‐noise understanding in multi‐talker scenes.

Memory Deficits for Health Information Provided Through a Telehealth Video Conferencing System

It is critical to remember details about meetings with healthcare providers. Forgetting could result in inadequate knowledge about ones' health, non-adherence with treatments, and poorer health outcomes. Hearing the health care provider plays a crucial role in consolidating information for recall. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has meant a rapid transition to videoconference-based medicine, here described as telehealth. When using telehealth speech must be filtered and compressed, and research has shown that degraded speech is more challenging to remember. Here we present preliminary results from a study that compared memory for health information provided in-person to telehealth. The data collection for this study was stopped due to the pandemic, but the preliminary results are interesting because the pandemic forced a rapid transition to telehealth. To examine a potential memory deficit for health information provided through telehealth, we presented older and younger adults with instructions on how to use two medical devices. One set of instructions was presented in-person, and the other through telehealth. Participants were asked to recall the instructions immediately after the session, and again after a 1-week delay. Overall, the number of details recalled was significantly lower when instructions were provided by telehealth, both immediately after the session and after a 1-week delay. It is likely that a mix of technological and communication strategies by the healthcare provider could reduce this telehealth memory deficit. Given the rapid transition to telehealth due to COVID-19, highlighting this deficit and providing potential solutions are timely and of utmost importance.

Acoustics versus linguistics? Context is Part and Parcel to lateralized processing of the parts and parcels of speech

The purpose of this review is to provide an accessible exploration of key considerations of lateralization in speech and non-speech perception using clear and defined language. From these considerations, the primary arguments for each side of the linguistics versus acoustics debate are outlined and explored in context of emerging integrative theories. This theoretical approach entails a perspective that linguistic and acoustic features differentially contribute to leftward bias, depending on the given context. Such contextual factors include stimulus parameters and variables of stimulus presentation (e.g., noise/silence and monaural/binaural) and variances in individuals (sex, handedness, age, and behavioural ability). Discussion of these factors and their interaction is also aimed towards providing an outline of variables that require consideration when developing and reviewing methodology of acoustic and linguistic processing laterality studies. Thus, there are three primary aims in the present paper: (1) to provide the reader with key theoretical perspectives from the acoustics/linguistics debate and a synthesis of the two viewpoints, (2) to highlight key caveats for generalizing findings regarding predominant models of speech laterality, and (3) to provide a practical guide for methodological control using predominant behavioural measures (i.e., gap detection and dichotic listening tasks) and/or neurophysiological measures (i.e., mismatch negativity) of speech laterality.

Hearing Aid Uptake, Benefit, and Use: The Impact of Hearing, Cognition, and Personal Factors

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of hearing, cognition, and personal factors on hearing aid (HA) uptake, use, and benefit. Method Eighty-five older adults aged 60-80 years (M = 70.23, SD = 5.17) participated in the study. Hearing was assessed using pure-tone audiometry and the Listening in Spatialised Noise-Sentences test. Cognition was measured using the Cogstate Brief Battery and the Cogstate Groton Maze Learning task. Personal demographics were recorded from participants' answers on a series of take-home questionnaires. HA benefit and use was subjectively reported at 3 and 6 months post HA fitting for those who chose to use HAs. Results Stepwise-regression and mixed-effects models indicated that stronger psychomotor function predicted greater reported use of HAs at 3 and 6 months post HA fitting. Greater family interaction scores also predicted greater HA use at 3 months after fitting. Participants who chose to be fitted with HAs had significantly poorer self-reported health and poorer audiometric thresholds. Poorer hearing was also significantly related with greater reported HA benefit. Conclusions A combination of cognitive, psychosocial factors and hearing impacted HA outcomes for the older Australians in this study. Self-reported HA use was significantly greater in participants with better psychomotor function. Furthermore, those with poorer self-reported health were more likely to choose to use HAs. These factors should be considered in audiological rehabilitation to best maximize patient HA outcomes.

Visual and Auditory Verbal Memory in Older Adults: Comparing Postlingually Deaf Cochlear Implant Users to Normal-Hearing Controls

Purpose The aim of this study was to test whether a group of older postlingually deafened cochlear implant users (OCIs) use similar verbal memory strategies to those used by older normal-hearing adults (ONHs). Verbal memory functioning was assessed in the visual and auditory modalities separately, enabling us to eliminate possible modality-based biases. Method Participants performed two separate visual and auditory verbal memory tasks. In each task, the visually or aurally presented study words were learned by vocal production (saying aloud) or by no production (reading silently or listening), followed by a free recall test. Twenty-seven older adults (> 60 years) participated (OCI = 13, ONH = 14), all of whom demonstrated intact cognitive abilities. All OCIs showed good open-set speech perception results in quiet. Results Both ONHs and OCIs showed production benefits (higher recall rates for vocalized than nonvocalized words) in the visual and auditory tasks. The ONHs showed similar production benefits in the visual and auditory tasks. The OCIs demonstrated a smaller production effect in the auditory task. Conclusions These results may indicate that different modality-specific memory strategies were used by the ONHs and the OCIs. The group differences in memory performance suggest that, even when deafness occurs after the completion of language acquisition, the reduced and distorted external auditory stimulation leads to a deterioration in the phonological representation of sounds. Possibly, this deterioration leads to a less efficient auditory long-term verbal memory.

Auditory Training to Improve Speech Perception and Self-Efficacy in Aging Adults

Purpose Difficulty in understanding spoken speech is a common complaint among aging adults, even when hearing impairment is absent. Correlational studies point to a relationship between age, auditory temporal processing (ATP), and speech perception but cannot demonstrate causality unlike training studies. In the current study, we test (a) the causal relationship between a spatial-temporal ATP task (temporal order judgment [TOJ]) and speech perception among aging adults using a training design and (b) whether improvement in aging adult speech perception is accompanied by improved self-efficacy. Method Eighty-two participants aged 60-83 years were randomly assigned to a group receiving (a) ATP training (TOJ) over 14 days, (b) non-ATP training (intensity discrimination) over 14 days, or (c) no training. Results The data showed that TOJ training elicited improvement in all speech perception tests, which was accompanied by increased self-efficacy. Neither improvement in speech perception nor self-efficacy was evident following non-ATP training or no training. Conclusions There was no generalization of the improvement resulting from TOJ training to intensity discrimination or generalization of improvement resulting from intensity discrimination training to speech perception. These findings imply that the effect of TOJ training on speech perception is specific and such improvement is not simply the product of generally improved auditory perception. It provides support for the idea that temporal properties of speech are indeed crucial for speech perception. Clinically, the findings suggest that aging adults can be trained to improve their speech perception, specifically through computer-based auditory training, and this may improve perceived self-efficacy.

The role of cognition for speech-in-noise perception: Considering individual listening strategies related to aging and hearing loss

Listening to speech in a noisy background is difficult for everyone. While such listening has historically been considered mainly in the context of auditory processing, the role of cognition has attracted considerable interest in recent years. This has been particularly true in the context of life-span research and the comparison of younger and older listeners. This article will discuss three factors that are important to consider when investigating the nature of cognitive involvement in speech-in-noise (SiN) perception: (1) the listening situation, (2) listener variables, and (3) the role of hearing aids. I argue that a similar level of intelligibility can be achieved with the support of very different skills, or listening strategies, depending on the listening situation and listener. Age as a variable is particularly instructive for this type of research as it is accompanied by auditory as well as cognitive changes. As age-related changes are not uniform, using aging as a tool for the investigation can increase the opportunity to see individual differences in contributing processes and resulting compensation strategies. In addition to highlighting different interaction effects between hearing and cognition, I will argue that our conceptual understanding of the underlying processes can only be furthered if the selection of cognitive tests and experimental procedures in SiN studies follows accepted cognitive models, so that understanding can advance on a conceptual level without reliance on a particular test. Ultimately, a better understanding of the various listening strategies available to listeners, and the conditions under which they are used, may have theoretical as well as practical implications. Theoretically, it may help us better understand phenomena such as listening effort. Practically, it may guide us toward more effective diagnosis and intervention for listening difficulties in everyday life.

Sensitivity to Interaural Phase in Older Hearing-Impaired Listeners Correlates With Nonauditory Trail Making Scores and With a Spatial Auditory Task of Unrelated Peripheral Origin

Interaural phase difference (IPD) discrimination upper frequency limits and just-noticeable differences (JNDs), interaural level difference (ILD) JNDs, and diotic intensity JNDs were measured for 20 older hearing-impaired listeners with matched moderate sloping to severe sensorineural hearing losses. The JNDs were measured using tone stimuli at 500 Hz. In addition to these auditory tests, the participants completed a cognitive test (Trail Making Test). Significant performance improvements in IPD discrimination were observed across test sessions. Strong correlations were found between IPD and ILD discrimination performance. Very strong correlations were observed between IPD discrimination and Trail Making performance as well as strong correlations between ILD discrimination and Trail Making performance. These relationships indicate that interindividual variability in IPD discrimination performance did not exclusively reflect deficits specific to any auditory processing, including early auditory processing of temporal information. The observed relationships between spatial audition and cognition may instead be attributable to a modality-general spatial processing deficit and/or individual differences in global processing speed.

Development of the Everyday Conversational Sentences in Noise test

To capture the demands of real-world listening, laboratory-based speech-in-noise tasks must better reflect the types of speech and environments listeners encounter in everyday life. This article reports the development of original sentence materials that were produced spontaneously with varying vocal efforts. These sentences were extracted from conversations between a talker pair (female/male) communicating in different realistic acoustic environments to elicit normal, raised and loud vocal efforts. In total, 384 sentences were extracted to provide four equivalent lists of 16 sentences at the three efforts for the two talkers. The sentences were presented to 32 young, normally hearing participants in stationary noise at five signal-to-noise ratios from -8 to 0 dB in 2 dB steps. Psychometric functions were fitted for each sentence, revealing an average 50% speech reception threshold (SRT₅₀) of -5.2 dB, and an average slope of 17.2%/dB. Sentences were then level-normalised to adjust their individual SRT₅₀ to the mean (-5.2 dB). The sentences may be combined with realistic background noise to provide an assessment method that better captures the perceptual demands of everyday communication.

Unraveling the Relation between EEG Correlates of Attentional Orienting and Sound Localization Performance: A Diffusion Model Approach

Understanding the contribution of cognitive processes and their underlying neurophysiological signals to behavioral phenomena has been a key objective in recent neuroscience research. Using a diffusion model framework, we investigated to what extent well-established correlates of spatial attention in the electroencephalogram contribute to behavioral performance in an auditory free-field sound localization task. Younger and older participants were instructed to indicate the horizontal position of a predefined target among three simultaneously presented distractors. The central question of interest was whether posterior alpha lateralization and amplitudes of the anterior contralateral N2 subcomponent (N2ac) predict sound localization performance (accuracy, mean RT) and/or diffusion model parameters (drift rate, boundary separation, non-decision time). Two age groups were compared to explore whether, in older adults (who struggle with multispeaker environments), the brain-behavior relationship would differ from younger adults. Regression analyses revealed that N2ac amplitudes predicted drift rate and accuracy, whereas alpha lateralization was not related to behavioral or diffusion modeling parameters. This was true irrespective of age. The results indicate that a more efficient attentional filtering and selection of information within an auditory scene, reflected by increased N2ac amplitudes, was associated with a higher speed of information uptake (drift rate) and better localization performance (accuracy), while the underlying response criteria (threshold separation), mean RTs, and non-decisional processes remained unaffected. The lack of a behavioral correlate of poststimulus alpha power lateralization constrasts with the well-established notion that prestimulus alpha power reflects a functionally relevant attentional mechanism. This highlights the importance of distinguishing anticipatory from poststimulus alpha power modulations.

The Effects of Age and Hearing Loss on Dual-Task Balance and Listening

Objectives

Among older adults (OA), hearing loss is associated with an increased risk for falls. The aim of the present study was to experimentally investigate the cognitive compensation hypothesis, wherein decreased auditory and motor functioning are compensated by the recruitment of cognitive resources.

Method

Twenty-nine younger adults (YA), 26 OA, and 32 OA with age-related hearing loss (ARHL) completed a dual-task paradigm consisting of cognitive and balance recovery tasks performed singly and concurrently. The auditory stimuli were presented with or without background noise.

Results

Both older adult groups performed significantly worse than YA on the cognitive task in noisy conditions and ARHL also demonstrated disproportionate negative effects of dual-tasking and noise. The kinematic data indicated that OA and ARHL demonstrated greater plantarflexion when compared with YA. Conversely, YA showed greater hip extension in response to dual-tasking.

Discussion

The cognitive and balance results suggest that YA were able to flexibly allocate their attention between tasks, whereas ARHL exhibited prioritization of posture over cognitive performance.

[Hearing and cognition: neurocognitive test batteries in otorhinolaryngology]

BACKGROUND

Hearing and cognition are closely related to each other. Particularly in suboptimal listening situations, cognitive abilities become important to enable speech comprehension. Besides, studies have indicated that hearing impairment is associated with a more rapid mental decline compared to persons with normal hearing. However, hearing loss also has an impact on neurocognitive testing, which is generally based on auditive stimuli. With increasing age, the risk of sensory but also of cognitive impairments increases. So far this comorbidity receives little consideration in otorhinolaryngology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The paper presents an overview and evaluation of widely used German neurocognitive test batteries for older patients, with regard to the different test modalities and their focus.

RESULTS

A multitude of different neurocognitive screening tests and detailed test batteries are available, particularly in the field of dementia. So far, sensory deficits have not been considered in neurocognitive testing, neither concerning application nor interpretation. Normative data adapted to the hearing impaired are still missing.

CONCLUSION

With regard to demographic changes and the well-known bias between hearing and cognition, screening of neurocognitive functions should be implemented in basic otorhinolaryngologic diagnostics. More comprehensive test batteries might be useful for research purposes or speech therapy.

Longitudinal Relationships Between Decline in Speech-in-Noise Recognition Ability and Cognitive Functioning: The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam

Purpose Various directional hypotheses for the observed links between aging, hearing, and cognition have been proposed: (a) cognitive load on perception hypothesis, (b) information degradation hypothesis, (c) sensory deprivation hypothesis, and (d) common cause hypothesis. Supporting evidence for all 4 hypotheses has been reported. No studies have modeled the corresponding 4 causal pathways into 1 single model, which would be required to evidence that multiple directional hypotheses apply. The aim of the current study was to tease out which pathways apply for 5 different cognitive measures. Method Data from 1,029 respondents of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used spanning a maximum follow-up of 7 years (3 measurements). Speech-in-noise recognition ability (digit triplet speech-in-noise test) was included as a measure of auditory function. Cognitive measures included global cognitive functioning, fluid intelligence, information processing speed, and verbal memory (immediate recall and retention). Bivariate dual change score modeling was used to model the causal pathways between hearing, cognition, and baseline age. Results For information processing speed, global cognitive functioning, fluid intelligence, and memory-immediate recall, all pathways except for the sensory deprivation pathway were supported. For memory-retention, only the common cause and the sensory deprivation pathways were supported. Conclusions Causal pathways corresponding to all 4 hypotheses were supported. Support for the common cause hypothesis, the information degradation hypothesis, and the cognitive load on perception hypotheses was found for 4 of 5 cognitive measures. This was unexpected in some cases (e.g., support for the information degradation pathway for cognitive measures that do not rely on auditory stimuli). The sensory deprivation pathway that emerged for memory-retention might point toward processes related to early stages of dementia. In summary, the results show that the links between decline in auditory function, cognition, and aging are complex and most likely are captured by pathways belonging to various directional hypotheses.

Age-Related Differences in the Perception of Emotion in Spoken Language: The Relative Roles of Prosody and Semantics

Purpose We aim to identify the possible sources for age-related differences in the perception of emotion in speech, focusing on the distinct roles of semantics (words) and prosody (tone of speech) and their interaction. Method We implement the Test for Rating of Emotions in Speech ( Ben-David, Multani, Shakuf, Rudzicz, & van Lieshout, 2016 ). Forty older and 40 younger adults were presented with spoken sentences made of different combinations of 5 emotional categories (anger, fear, happiness, sadness, and neutral) presented in the prosody and semantics. In separate tasks, listeners were asked to attend to the sentence as a whole, integrating both speech channels, or to focus on 1 channel only (prosody/semantics). Their task was to rate how much they agree the sentence is conveying a predefined emotion. Results (a) Identification of emotions: both age groups identified presented emotions. (b) Failure of selective attention: both age groups were unable to selectively attend to 1 channel when instructed, with slightly larger failures for older adults. (c) Integration of channels: younger adults showed a bias toward prosody, whereas older adults showed a slight bias toward semantics. Conclusions Three possible sources are suggested for age-related differences: (a) underestimation of the emotional content of speech, (b) slightly larger failures to selectively attend to 1 channel, and (c) different weights assigned to the 2 speech channels.

Identification of the Spectrotemporal Modulations That Support Speech Intelligibility in Hearing-Impaired and Normal-Hearing Listeners

Purpose Age-related sensorineural hearing loss can dramatically affect speech recognition performance due to reduced audibility and suprathreshold distortion of spectrotemporal information. Normal aging produces changes within the central auditory system that impose further distortions. The goal of this study was to characterize the effects of aging and hearing loss on perceptual representations of speech. Method We asked whether speech intelligibility is supported by different patterns of spectrotemporal modulations (STMs) in older listeners compared to young normal-hearing listeners. We recruited 3 groups of participants: 20 older hearing-impaired (OHI) listeners, 19 age-matched normal-hearing listeners, and 10 young normal-hearing (YNH) listeners. Listeners performed a speech recognition task in which randomly selected regions of the speech STM spectrum were revealed from trial to trial. The overall amount of STM information was varied using an up-down staircase to hold performance at 50% correct. Ordinal regression was used to estimate weights showing which regions of the STM spectrum were associated with good performance (a "classification image" or CImg). Results The results indicated that (a) large-scale CImg patterns did not differ between the 3 groups; (b) weights in a small region of the CImg decreased systematically as hearing loss increased; (c) CImgs were also nonsystematically distorted in OHI listeners, and the magnitude of this distortion predicted speech recognition performance even after accounting for audibility; and (d) YNH listeners performed better overall than the older groups. Conclusion We conclude that OHI/older normal-hearing listeners rely on the same speech STMs as YNH listeners but encode this information less efficiently. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7859981.

Peripheral and central hearing impairment and their relationship with cognition: a review

Objective: To consider the relationships between both peripheral and central hearing impairment and cognition. Design: Narrative review. Study sample: Numerous studies exploring the relationship between hearing impairment and cognitive function, particularly in an older population. Results: In addition to the well-documented relationship between peripheral hearing loss and cognition highlighted in previous comprehensive reviews, there is also some evidence to suggest that there is a relationship between central hearing impairment and cognition. Further research is required to better understand this relationship and its effects on hearing aid benefit in people with both peripheral hearing loss and central hearing impairment. Conclusions: To fully understand the relationship between hearing impairment and cognitive impairment, not only peripheral but central hearing needs to be considered. Such knowledge could be of benefit in the clinical management of people with both peripheral hearing loss and central hearing impairment.

Immediate improvement of speech-in-noise perception through multisensory stimulation via an auditory to tactile sensory substitution

BACKGROUND

Hearing loss is becoming a real social and health problem. Its prevalence in the elderly is an epidemic. The risk of developing hearing loss is also growing among younger people. If left untreated, hearing loss can perpetuate development of neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia. Despite recent advancements in hearing aid (HA) and cochlear implant (CI) technologies, hearing impaired users still encounter significant practical and social challenges, with or without aids. In particular, they all struggle with understanding speech in challenging acoustic environments, especially in presence of a competing speaker.

OBJECTIVES

In the current proof-of-concept study we tested whether multisensory stimulation, pairing audition and a minimal-size touch device would improve intelligibility of speech in noise.

METHODS

To this aim we developed an audio-to-tactile sensory substitution device (SSD) transforming low-frequency speech signals into tactile vibrations delivered on two finger tips. Based on the inverse effectiveness law, i.e., multisensory enhancement is strongest when signal-to-noise ratio is lowest between senses, we embedded non-native language stimuli in speech-like noise and paired it with a low-frequency input conveyed through touch.

RESULTS

We found immediate and robust improvement in speech recognition (i.e. in the Signal-To-Noise-ratio) in the multisensory condition without any training, at a group level as well as in every participant. The reported improvement at the group-level of 6 dB was indeed major considering that an increase of 10 dB represents a doubling of the perceived loudness.

CONCLUSIONS

These results are especially relevant when compared to previous SSD studies showing effects in behavior only after a demanding cognitive training. We discuss the implications of our results for development of SSDs and of specific rehabilitation programs for the hearing impaired either using or not using HAs or CIs. We also discuss the potential application of such a set-up for sense augmentation, such as when learning a new language.

Objective Assessment of Listening Effort: Coregistration of Pupillometry and EEG

Listening to speech in noise is effortful, particularly for people with hearing impairment. While it is known that effort is related to a complex interplay between bottom-up and top-down processes, the cognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms contributing to effortful listening remain unknown. Therefore, a reliable physiological measure to assess effort remains elusive. This study aimed to determine whether pupil dilation and alpha power change, two physiological measures suggested to index listening effort, assess similar processes. Listening effort was manipulated by parametrically varying spectral resolution (16- and 6-channel noise vocoding) and speech reception thresholds (SRT; 50% and 80%) while 19 young, normal-hearing adults performed a speech recognition task in noise. Results of off-line sentence scoring showed discrepancies between the target SRTs and the true performance obtained during the speech recognition task. For example, in the SRT80% condition, participants scored an average of 64.7%. Participants’ true performance levels were therefore used for subsequent statistical modelling. Results showed that both measures appeared to be sensitive to changes in spectral resolution (channel vocoding), while pupil dilation only was also significantly related to their true performance levels (%) and task accuracy (i.e., whether the response was correctly or partially recalled). The two measures were not correlated, suggesting they each may reflect different cognitive processes involved in listening effort. This combination of findings contributes to a growing body of research aiming to develop an objective measure of listening effort.

Aging Impairs Audiovisual Facilitation of Object Motion Within Self-Motion

The presence of a moving sound has been shown to facilitate the detection of an independently moving visual target embedded among an array of identical moving objects simulating forward self-motion (Calabro et al., Proc. R. Soc. B, 2011). Given that the perception of object motion within self-motion declines with aging, we investigated whether older adults can also benefit from the presence of a congruent dynamic sound when detecting object motion within self-motion. Visual stimuli consisted of nine identical spheres randomly distributed inside a virtual rectangular prism. For 1 s, all the spheres expanded outward simulating forward observer translation at a constant speed. One of the spheres (the target) had independent motion either approaching or moving away from the observer at three different speeds. In the visual condition, stimuli contained no sound. In the audiovisual condition, the visual stimulus was accompanied by a broadband noise sound co-localized with the target, whose loudness increased or decreased congruent with the target’s direction. Participants reported which of the spheres had independent motion. Younger participants showed higher target detection accuracy in the audiovisual compared to the visual condition at the slowest speed level. Older participants showed overall poorer target detection accuracy than the younger participants, but the presence of the sound had no effect on older participants’ target detection accuracy at either speed level. These results indicate that aging may impair cross-modal integration in some contexts. Potential reasons for the absence of auditory facilitation in older adults are discussed.

Age effects on perceptual restoration of degraded interrupted sentences

Adult cochlear-implant (CI) users show small or non-existent perceptual restoration effects when listening to interrupted speech. Perceptual restoration is believed to be a top-down mechanism that enhances speech perception in adverse listening conditions, and appears to be particularly utilized by older normal-hearing participants. Whether older normal-hearing participants can derive any restoration benefits from degraded speech (as would be presented through a CI speech processor) is the focus of this study. Two groups of normal-hearing participants (younger: age ≤30 yrs; older: age ≥60 yrs) were tested for perceptual restoration effects in the context of interrupted sentences. Speech signal degradations were controlled by manipulating parameters of a noise vocoder and were used to analyze effects of spectral resolution and noise burst spectral content on perceptual restoration. Older normal-hearing participants generally showed larger and more consistent perceptual restoration benefits for vocoded speech than did younger normal-hearing participants, even in the lowest spectral resolution conditions. Reduced restoration in CI users thus may be caused by factors like noise reduction strategies or small dynamic ranges rather than an interaction of aging effects and low spectral resolution.

Validating a Rapid, Automated Test of Spatial Release From Masking

PURPOSE

To evaluate the test-retest reliability of a headphone-based spatial release from a masking task with two maskers (referred to here as the SR2) and to describe its relationship to the same test done over loudspeakers in an anechoic chamber (the SR2A). We explore what thresholds tell us about certain populations (such as older individuals or individuals with hearing impairment) and discuss how the SR2 might be useful in the clinic.

METHOD

Fifty-four participants completed speech intelligibility tests in which a target phrase and two masking phrases from the Coordinate Response Measure corpus (Bolia, Nelson, Ericson, & Simpson, 2000) were presented either via earphones using a virtual spatial array or via loudspeakers in an anechoic chamber. For the SR2, the target sentence was always at 0° azimuth angle, and the maskers were either colocated at 0° or positioned at ± 45°. For the SR2A, the target was located at 0°, and the maskers were colocated or located at ± 15°, ± 30°, ± 45°, ± 90°, or ± 135°. Spatial release from masking was determined as the difference between thresholds in the colocated condition and each spatially separated condition. All participants completed the SR2 at least twice, and 29 of the individuals who completed the SR2 at least twice also participated in the SR2A. In a second experiment, 40 participants completed the SR2 8 times, and the changes in performance were evaluated as a function of test repetition.

RESULTS

Mean thresholds were slightly better on the SR2 after the first repetition but were consistent across 8 subsequent testing sessions. Performance was consistent for the SR2A, regardless of the number of times testing was repeated. The SR2, which simulates 45° separations of target and maskers, produced spatially separated thresholds that were similar to thresholds obtained with 30° of separation in the anechoic chamber. Over headphones and in the anechoic chamber, pure-tone average was a strong predictor of spatial release, whereas age only reached significance for colocated conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

The SR2 is a reliable and effective method of testing spatial release from masking, suitable for screening abnormal listening abilities and for tracking rehabilitation over time. Future work should focus on developing and validating rapid, automated testing to identify the ability of listeners to benefit from high-frequency amplification, smaller spatial separations, and larger spectral differences among talkers.

Global Sensory Impairment Predicts Morbidity and Mortality in Older U.S. Adults

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate global sensory impairment (GSI, an integrated measure of sensory dysfunction) as a predictor of physical function, cognition, overall health, and mortality.

DESIGN

Prospective study.

SETTING

The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.

PARTICIPANTS

A national probability sample of 3,005 home-dwelling older U.S. adults assessed at baseline (2005-06) and 5-year follow-up (2010-11).

MEASUREMENTS

Gait speed, activity, disability, cognition, overall health, 5-year mortality.

RESULTS

At baseline, older adults with worse GSI were slower (Timed Up and Go times: odds ratio (OR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17-1.50) and had more activity of daily living deficits (≥2: OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.10-1.46). Five years later, they were still slower (timed walk: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.05-1.42), had more disabilities (≥2 instrumental activities of daily living; OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.23-1.70), were less active (daytime activity according to accelerometry: β = -2.7, 95% CI = -5.2 to -0.2), had worse cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment; β = -0.64, 95% CI = -0.84 to -0.44), more likely to have poorer overall health (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.03-1.31) and lose weight (>10%: OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.04-1.64), and have died (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.19-1.76). All analyses were adjusted for relevant confounders at baseline, including age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, smoking, problem drinking, body mass index, comorbidities, and cognitive function.

CONCLUSION

GSI predicts impaired physical function, cognitive dysfunction, significant weight loss, and mortality 5 years later in older U.S. adults. Multisensory evaluation may identify vulnerable individuals, offering the opportunity for early intervention to mitigate adverse outcomes.

Age-related changes in auditory processing and speech perception: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses

Age-related differences in speech perception have been shown in previous cross-sectional studies to be related to auditory temporal processing. We examined this association in both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, controlling for age-related changes in hearing sensitivity and cognitive ability. Fifty-eight participants were tested in two phases. In phase 1, ages ranged between 22 and 82 years. Phase 2 occurred seven years later. In both phases, participants performed auditory processing tasks, speech perception tests, and cognitive tasks. In both phases, age correlated with hearing level, auditory temporal processing thresholds, word recognition accuracy in noise, and compressed speech. Auditory temporal processing thresholds were correlated with word recognition accuracy in narrowband noise and compressed speech. Longitudinal analysis showed significant decreases in performance from phase 1 to phase 2 in hearing level, dichotic TOJ thresholds, and word recognition accuracy. Steeper slopes were observed in phase 2 than in phase 1 for correlations between age, hearing level, and word recognition accuracy in narrowband noise, but not for age and dichotic TOJ thresholds. Generalized estimating equations revealed an overall decrease in word recognition accuracy from phase 1 to phase 2; this decrease was larger for older participants. Increases in dichotic TOJ and gap detection thresholds were associated with a decrease over time in speech in narrowband and broadband noise, and compressed speech, even when adjusted for age, hearing level, and cognitive ability. These results show that both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs yield similar significant associations between temporal processing and speech perception, even when adjusted for hearing level and cognitive ability.

Clear speech and lexical competition in younger and older adult listeners

This study investigated whether clear speech reduces the cognitive demands of lexical competition by crossing speaking style with lexical difficulty. Younger and older adults identified more words in clear versus conversational speech and more easy words than hard words. An initial analysis suggested that the effect of lexical difficulty was reduced in clear speech, but more detailed analyses within each age group showed this interaction was significant only for older adults. The results also showed that both groups improved over the course of the task and that clear speech was particularly helpful for individuals with poorer hearing: for younger adults, clear speech eliminated hearing-related differences that affected performance on conversational speech. For older adults, clear speech was generally more helpful to listeners with poorer hearing. These results suggest that clear speech affords perceptual benefits to all listeners and, for older adults, mitigates the cognitive challenge associated with identifying words with many phonological neighbors.

Designing Serious Computer Games for People With Moderate and Advanced Dementia: Interdisciplinary Theory-Driven Pilot Study

Background

The field of serious games for people with dementia (PwD) is mostly driven by game-design principals typically applied to games created by and for younger individuals. Little has been done developing serious games to help PwD maintain cognition and to support functionality.

Objectives

We aimed to create a theory-based serious game for PwD, with input from a multi-disciplinary team familiar with aging, dementia, and gaming theory, as well as direct input from end users (the iterative process). Targeting enhanced self-efficacy in daily activities, the goal was to generate a game that is acceptable, accessible and engaging for PwD.

Methods

The theory-driven game development was based on the following learning theories: learning in context, errorless learning, building on capacities, and acknowledging biological changes—all with the aim to boost self-efficacy. The iterative participatory process was used for game screen development with input of 34 PwD and 14 healthy community dwelling older adults, aged over 65 years. Development of game screens was informed by the bio-psychological aging related disabilities (ie, motor, visual, and perception) as well as remaining neuropsychological capacities (ie, implicit memory) of PwD. At the conclusion of the iterative development process, a prototype game with 39 screens was used for a pilot study with 24 PwD and 14 healthy community dwelling older adults. The game was played twice weekly for 10 weeks.

Results

Quantitative analysis showed that the average speed of successful screen completion was significantly longer for PwD compared with healthy older adults. Both PwD and controls showed an equivalent linear increase in the speed for task completion with practice by the third session (P<.02). Most important, the rate of improved processing speed with practice was not statistically different between PwD and controls. This may imply that some form of learning occurred for PwD at a nonsignificantly different rate than for controls. Qualitative results indicate that PwD found the game engaging and fun. Healthy older adults found the game too easy. Increase in self-reported self-efficacy was documented with PwD only.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that PwD’s speed improved with practice at the same rate as healthy older adults. This implies that when tasks are designed to match PwD’s abilities, learning ensues. In addition, this pilot study of a serious game, designed for PwD, was accessible, acceptable, and enjoyable for end users. Games designed based on learning theories and input of end users and a multi-disciplinary team familiar with dementia and aging may have the potential of maintaining capacity and improving functionality of PwD. A larger longer study is needed to confirm our findings and evaluate the use of these games in assessing cognitive status and functionality.

Aging and Hearing Health: The Life-course Approach

Sensory abilities decline with age. More than 5% of the world's population, approximately 360 million people, have disabling hearing loss. In adults, disabling hearing loss is defined by thresholds greater than 40 dBHL in the better hearing ear.Hearing disability is an important issue in geriatric medicine because it is associated with numerous health issues, including accelerated cognitive decline, depression, increased risk of dementia, poorer balance, falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality. There are also social implications, such as reduced communication function, social isolation, loss of autonomy, impaired driving ability, and financial decline. Furthermore, the onset of hearing loss is gradual and subtle, first affecting the detection of high-pitched sounds and with difficulty understanding speech in noisy but not in quiet environments. Consequently, delays in recognizing and seeking help for hearing difficulties are common. Age-related hearing loss has no known cure, and technologies (hearing aids, cochlear implants, and assistive devices) improve thresholds but do not restore hearing to normal. Therefore, health care for persons with hearing loss and people within their communication circles requires education and counseling (e.g., increasing knowledge, changing attitudes, and reducing stigma), behavior change (e.g., adapting communication strategies), and environmental modifications (e.g., reducing noise). In this article, we consider the causes, consequences, and magnitude of hearing loss from a life-course perspective. We examine the concept of "hearing health," how to achieve it, and implications for policy and practice.

Hearing impairment, cognition and speech understanding: exploratory factor analyses of a comprehensive test battery for a group of hearing aid users, the n200 study

OBJECTIVE

The aims of the current n200 study were to assess the structural relations between three classes of test variables (i.e. HEARING, COGNITION and aided speech-in-noise OUTCOMES) and to describe the theoretical implications of these relations for the Ease of Language Understanding (ELU) model.

STUDY SAMPLE

Participants were 200 hard-of-hearing hearing-aid users, with a mean age of 60.8 years. Forty-three percent were females and the mean hearing threshold in the better ear was 37.4 dB HL.

DESIGN

LEVEL1 factor analyses extracted one factor per test and/or cognitive function based on a priori conceptualizations. The more abstract LEVEL 2 factor analyses were performed separately for the three classes of test variables.

RESULTS

The HEARING test variables resulted in two LEVEL 2 factors, which we labelled SENSITIVITY and TEMPORAL FINE STRUCTURE; the COGNITIVE variables in one COGNITION factor only, and OUTCOMES in two factors, NO CONTEXT and CONTEXT. COGNITION predicted the NO CONTEXT factor to a stronger extent than the CONTEXT outcome factor. TEMPORAL FINE STRUCTURE and SENSITIVITY were associated with COGNITION and all three contributed significantly and independently to especially the NO CONTEXT outcome scores (R(2) = 0.40).

CONCLUSIONS

All LEVEL 2 factors are important theoretically as well as for clinical assessment.

Noise Affects Performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment

L’objectif était d’investiguer l’impact de la présence d’un bruit de fond sur la performance au Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Deux versions du MoCA ont été administrées, utilisant écouteurs, avec des niveaux bas et élevés de bruit de fond à deux groupes de personnes âgées (un groupe présentant une audition cliniquement normale, le second présentant une perte d’audition) ainsi qu’à un groupe de jeunes adultes. Les niveaux d’intensité utilisés pour présenter la parole et le bruit étaient personnalisés en fonction des habiletés des participants présentant une perte de l’ouïe, et ce en vue de créer un niveau de difficulté uniforme à travers les participants dans la condition de bruit plus élevé. Les deux groupes de personnes âgées ont obtenu des scores plus faibles au MoCA en comparaison aux jeunes adultes. Il est également important de souligner que tous les participants ont obtenu des scores plus faibles au MoCA lorsque le test était administré dans un contexte de bruit élevé (M = 22,7/30), en comparaison à un contexte de bruit faible (M = 25,7/30, p < .001). Ces résultats suggèrent que le bruit de fond présent dans un contexte d’évaluation devrait être pris en considération au moment de l’administration de tests cognitifs ainsi que dans l’interprétation des résultats, en particulier lors de l’essai des adultes plus âgés.