Auditory temporal processing deficits in older listeners: From a review to a future view of Presbycusis

Authors

  • Kathy Pichora-Fuller Dept of Psychology, University of Toronto, 3359 Mississauga Rd., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 1C6; Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, 550 University Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 2A2
  • Ewen MacDonald Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, 550 University Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 2A2; Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering and Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G9

Abstract

Numerous behavioural studies support the hypothesis that there are age-related auditory temporal processing de cits. The effects of age on some psychoacoustic and speech tasks implicate a loss of synchrony or periodicity coding, while other results point to losses in gap and duration coding, or poor use of envelope cues. Performance on psychoacoustic tests of auditory temporal processing has been related to performance on speech tests. This paper reviews the evidence for age-related differences in performance to address two questions: Does aging affect auditory temporal processing at one or more levels, and how are these age-related differences related to the processing of speech? Future directions for research are proposed to address the extent to which different types of auditory temporal processing de cits are inter-related. Future directions for practice are proposed to address the need to develop a new approach to the assessment and rehabilitation of sub-types of presbycusis. Differentiating neural presbycusis from other sub-types may clarify the bases of individual differences in temporal processing and their consequences to speech understanding.

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Additional Files

Published

2007-12-15

How to Cite

Pichora-Fuller, K., & MacDonald, E. (2007). Auditory temporal processing deficits in older listeners: From a review to a future view of Presbycusis. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Auditory and Audiological Research, 1, 291–300. Retrieved from https://proceedings.isaar.eu/index.php/isaarproc/article/view/2007-28

Issue

Section

2007/3. Perceptual correlates of hearing loss and auditory processing disorders