Auditory Comprehension

Definition

The ability to decode and understand spoken language at the word (e.g., Stop!), sentence (e.g., Turn left at the next intersection), and discourse (e.g., conversation) levels. Linguistic factors influencing auditory comprehension can include a word’s frequency of occurrence (e.g., cat vs. omnivore), semantic or acoustic similarities to competing words (e.g., car vs. bus), sentence length, and syntactic complexity. Attention, auditory memory, and a listener’s ability to apply the spoken word to previous experiences or knowledge base can influence effective and efficient auditory comprehension. Auditory comprehension can be impaired to varying degrees following acquired neurogenic disorders such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and dementia.

Cross-References

• Aphasia

• Attention

• Language