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

ABSTRACT:

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 a

SUBMITTER: Bruce H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6327658 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature