노년층의 말소리 지각 능력 및 관련 인지적 변인

Abstract

The aims of the present study are two-fold: 1) to explore differences on speech perception between younger and older adults according to noise conditions; and 2) to investigate which cognitive domains are correlated with speech perception. Data were acquired from 15 younger adults and 15 older adults. Sentence recognition test was conducted in four noise conditions(i.e., in-quiet, +5 dB SNR, 0 dB SNR, -5 dB SNR). All participants completed auditory and cognitive assessment. Upon controlling for hearing thresholds, the older group revealed significantly poorer performance compared to the younger adults only under the high noise condition at -5 dB SNR. For older group, performance on Seoul Verbal Learning Test(immediate recall) was significantly correlated with speech perception performance, upon controlling for hearing thresholds. In older adults, working memory and verbal short-term memory are the best predictors of speech-in-noise perception. The current study suggests that consideration of cognitive function for older adults in speech perception assessment is necessary due to its adverse effect on speech perception under background noise.