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

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The Aging Auditory System

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 34))

Abstract

Older individuals often find it difficult to communicate, especially in group situations, because they are unable to keep up with the flow of conversation or are too slow in comprehending what they are hearing. These communication difficulties are often exacerbated by negative stereotypes held by their communication partners who often perceive older adults as less competent than they actually are (Ryan et al. 1986). Sometimes, older adults’ communication problems motivate them, often at the prompting of their family and friends, to seek help from hearing specialists (O’Mahoney et al. 1996). Quite often, however, older adults and/or their family members wonder if these comprehension difficulties are a sign of cognitive decline. Such uncertainty on the part of both older adults and their family members with respect to the source of communication difficulties is understandable given that age-related changes in the comprehension of spoken language could be due to age-related changes in hearing, to age-related declines in cognitive functioning, or to interactions between these two levels of processing. To participate effectively in a multitalker conversation, listeners need to do more than simply recognize and repeat speech. They have to keep track of who said what, extract the meaning of each utterance, store it in memory for future use, integrate the incoming information with what each conversational participant has said in the past, and draw on the listener’s own knowledge of the topic under consideration to extract general themes and formulate responses. In other words, effective communication requires not only an intact auditory system but also an intact cognitive system.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN 2690, RGPIN 138472, RGPIN 9952) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MGC 42665, MT 15359).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5L 1C6

    Bruce A. Schneider, Kathy Pichora-Fuller & Meredyth Daneman

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  1. Bruce A. Schneider
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  2. Kathy Pichora-Fuller
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  3. Meredyth Daneman
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Correspondence to Bruce A. Schneider .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Hearing & Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, Lefrak Hall 0100 , College Park, 20742, U.S.A.

    Sandra Gordon-Salant

  2. Medical Center, University of Rochester, Elmwood Avenue 601, Rochester, 14642, U.S.A.

    Robert D. Frisina

  3. Dept. Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742-4415, U.S.A.

    Arthur N. Popper

  4. Parmly Hearing Inst., Loyola University Chicago, N. Sheridan Rd. 6525, Chicago, 60626, U.S.A.

    Richard R. Fay

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Schneider, B.A., Pichora-Fuller, K., Daneman, M. (2010). Effects of Senescent Changes in Audition and Cognition on Spoken Language Comprehension. In: Gordon-Salant, S., Frisina, R., Popper, A., Fay, R. (eds) The Aging Auditory System. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 34. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0993-0_7

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