Older adults show reduced accuracy in severe noise (SNR -5) but perform comparably to younger adults in quiet and moderate noise (SNR 20)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r1 · q3
Currency · newest study 2009 · checked against its sources 2026-10-17 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Older and younger adults did not differ significantly in word identification accuracy in the quiet and SNR 20 conditions, but older adults were significantly less accurate in the SNR -5 condition. → Wong Patrick C. M. 2009

Evidence¶

Wong Patrick C. M. 2009¶

Wong Patrick C. M., Jin James Xumin, Gunasekera Geshri M., Abel Rebekah, Lee Edward R., Dhar Sumitrajit. (2009). Aging and Cortical Mechanisms of Speech Perception in Noise. Neuropsychologia 47(3), 693-703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.11.032

q3 · i? · causal · r1

In-scanner behavioral accuracy from a group x condition repeated measures ANOVA in 24 adults (12 younger, 12 older). Posthoc Bonferroni-corrected t-tests showed "no significant within-group difference for the Quiet vs. SNR 20 comparison" and no between-group differences in those conditions; between-group differences emerged only in SNR -5 (p < .001).

"Posthoc t-tests (Bonferroni correction applied for determining significance level) revealed no significant within-group difference for the Quiet vs. SNR 20 comparison where both groups performed near ceiling, nor were there significant between-group differences for the Quiet and SNR 20 conditions."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Age and Developmental Stage — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it
• Attention — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Auditory Processing — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Older adults show a more diffused cortical network involving frontal and ventral regions, whereas younger adults show a streamlined auditory network during speech-in-noise processing — related
• Middle temporal gyrus activation in older listeners correlates with performance only in non-debilitating listening conditions, not in severe noise — related
• Activation in frontal and parietal cognitive regions is positively correlated with speech-in-noise behavioral performance in older listeners, supporting a compensatory role — related
• Group x condition interactions show condition-dependent activation differences in superior temporal, parietal, cingulate, medial frontal, and middle temporal regions — related
• Visual distraction impairs categorization in older adults but not younger adults, who perform equivalently without distraction — related
• Children's speech perception in noise is more impaired than adults', requiring higher signal-to-noise ratios for comparable performance — related
• Older adults show reduced activation in auditory cortex and increased activation in prefrontal and precuneus regions during speech-in-noise processing — related
• Older adults show larger multisensory gains for simple stimuli but multisensory deficits for complex speech stimuli — related
• Individuals with schizophrenia show reduced behavioral benefit from combined audiovisual cues and altered multisensory temporal processing — related