{"title":"A Comparative Study of Auditory Processing and Working Memory Profiles in Young and Older Adults.","authors":"Vaishnavi Ramadas, Ramya Vaidyanath, Ajith Kumar Uppunda, Sushma Viswanathan","doi":"10.1044/2024_AJA-24-00069","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to profile and compare the auditory processing and working memory skills of young and older adults with near-normal hearing thresholds (up to 2000 Hz) and cognition. This was done to investigate the effect of aging on these skills despite exhibiting near-normal peripheral hearing in low frequencies and normal cognitive skills.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Twenty-five young adults (18 to 35 years) and 35 older adults (56 to 79 years) were recruited for the study. They were screened for near-normal hearing thresholds (up to 2000 Hz) as well as cognition, and written informed consent was obtained. A battery of auditory processing and working memory tests were administered to the participants. The responses obtained were compared using the Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test. Principal component analysis (PCA) was also carried out to examine any relationship between the various auditory processes and the cognitive skills.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The young adults had superior performance compared to older adults on most of the tasks. PCA revealed the influence of working memory on performance in most tests of auditory processing in young adults and to a lesser extent in older adults.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study aimed to assess and compare the auditory processing and working memory skills of young and older adults with normal hearing and cognition. Overall, young adults demonstrated superior performance compared to older adults across the tasks. The results of PCA indicated that the young adults utilized their cognitive resources better for auditory processing compared to the older adults. These findings suggest a need for tailored interventions targeting both auditory processing and working memory, especially among older adults, and highlight the importance of considering age-related differences in these cognitive processes when interpreting auditory processing assessments.</p>","PeriodicalId":49241,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Audiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Audiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-24-00069","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to profile and compare the auditory processing and working memory skills of young and older adults with near-normal hearing thresholds (up to 2000 Hz) and cognition. This was done to investigate the effect of aging on these skills despite exhibiting near-normal peripheral hearing in low frequencies and normal cognitive skills.
Method: Twenty-five young adults (18 to 35 years) and 35 older adults (56 to 79 years) were recruited for the study. They were screened for near-normal hearing thresholds (up to 2000 Hz) as well as cognition, and written informed consent was obtained. A battery of auditory processing and working memory tests were administered to the participants. The responses obtained were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Principal component analysis (PCA) was also carried out to examine any relationship between the various auditory processes and the cognitive skills.
Results: The young adults had superior performance compared to older adults on most of the tasks. PCA revealed the influence of working memory on performance in most tests of auditory processing in young adults and to a lesser extent in older adults.
Conclusions: This study aimed to assess and compare the auditory processing and working memory skills of young and older adults with normal hearing and cognition. Overall, young adults demonstrated superior performance compared to older adults across the tasks. The results of PCA indicated that the young adults utilized their cognitive resources better for auditory processing compared to the older adults. These findings suggest a need for tailored interventions targeting both auditory processing and working memory, especially among older adults, and highlight the importance of considering age-related differences in these cognitive processes when interpreting auditory processing assessments.
期刊介绍:
Mission: AJA publishes peer-reviewed research and other scholarly articles pertaining to clinical audiology methods and issues, and serves as an outlet for discussion of related professional and educational issues and ideas. The journal is an international outlet for research on clinical research pertaining to screening, diagnosis, management and outcomes of hearing and balance disorders as well as the etiologies and characteristics of these disorders. The clinical orientation of the journal allows for the publication of reports on audiology as implemented nationally and internationally, including novel clinical procedures, approaches, and cases. AJA seeks to advance evidence-based practice by disseminating the results of new studies as well as providing a forum for critical reviews and meta-analyses of previously published work.
Scope: The broad field of clinical audiology, including audiologic/aural rehabilitation; balance and balance disorders; cultural and linguistic diversity; detection, diagnosis, prevention, habilitation, rehabilitation, and monitoring of hearing loss; hearing aids, cochlear implants, and hearing-assistive technology; hearing disorders; lifespan perspectives on auditory function; speech perception; and tinnitus.