Hearing Acuity, Cognitive Aging, and Memory for Speech

描述（由申请人提供）：尽管许多成年人在成年后仍保持良好的听力，但大量老年人表现出与年龄相关的听力下降，这严重干扰了对言语的理解和记忆。对于老年人的生活质量来说，很少有问题像回忆听到的信息的能力那样重要，无论是医疗保健提供者的指示，如何填写表格的口头指示，还是家人和朋友的最新消息。自然语言是快速的，从90字每分钟（wpm）的深思熟虑的谈话，以率远远超过200 wpm。除了这种高输入率之外，还有一个事实，即语音经常伴随着背景干扰。众所周知，这两个因素对老年人尤其具有破坏性。 该应用程序集中在一个跨学科的方法，结合认知心理学和听力学的专业知识，以了解年龄相关的认知因素如何与年龄相关的听力损失（老年性耳聋）在记忆中的语音相互作用。为了区分认知老化和听力敏锐度的影响，将测试四组成年人：与年龄相关的听力损失的老年人，在言语范围内听力良好的老年人，在言语范围内听力损失与老年人相似的年轻人，以及听力良好的年轻人组。该研究将集中在（1）快速讲话和听觉分散对口头信息记忆的影响，（2）口头信息的特征如何与年龄和听力损失相互作用，以及（3）听力差的老年人在多大程度上可以灵活地使用上下文，而不是反映持久的感知“风格”，这可能并不总是合适的。在理论层面上的目标之一将是测试的假设，花费在较低水平的语音感知的额外努力，可以吸引资源，通常是可用于“下游”的过程，如记忆编码，为以后的回忆。在应用层面上，所获得的数据将有助于制定对老年人特殊需求敏感的听力测试指南。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although many adults maintain good hearing into older adulthood, large numbers of older adults manifest age-related hearing declines that significantly interfere with comprehension and memory for speech. Few issues are as important to the quality of life of older adults as the ability to recall heard information, whether it is instructions from medical care providers, verbal instructions on how to complete forms, or the latest news of family and friends. Natural speech is rapid, ranging from 90 words per minute (wpm) for thoughtful conversation, to rates far in excess of 200 wpm. Added to this high input rate is the fact that speech is very often accompanied by background distraction. Both factors are known to be especially disruptive to older adults. This application centers on an interdisciplinary approach combining expertise from cognitive psychology and audiology to the understanding of how age-related cognitive factors interact with agerelated hearing loss (presbycusis) in memory for speech. In order to separate the effects of cognitive aging and hearing acuity, four groups of adults will be tested: older adults with age-related hearing loss, older adults with good hearing in the speech range, young adults with hearing loss in the speech range similar to that of the older adults, and a young adult group with good hearing. The research will focus on (1) the effects of rapid speech and auditory distraction on memory for spoken messages, (2) how the features of the spoken messages interact with age and hearing loss, and (3) the extent to which the use of context can be flexibly employed by older adults with poor hearing as distinct from reflecting an enduring perceptual "style" that may not always be appropriate. On the theoretical level one of the goals will be to test the hypothesis that the extra effort expended on lower level perception of speech can draw resources that would ordinarily be available for "down-stream" processes such as memory encoding for later recall. On the applied level, the data obtained will be valuable for developing guidelines for tests of hearing that are sensitive to the special needs of older adults.