Abstract
This study sought to compare dichotic right-ear advantages (REAs) of young adults to older adult data (C. M. Roup, T. L. Wiley, & R. H. Wilson, 2006) after matching for overall levels of recognition performance. Specifically, speech-spectrum noise was introduced in order to reduce dichotic recognition performance of young adults to a level consistent with that of older adults with hearing loss. Dichotic word-recognition performance was evaluated in the free-recall response paradigm across 2 conditions: (a) quiet and (b) noise (+11 dB signal-to-noise ratio). Participants included a group of right-handed young adults (n = 32) with normal hearing. The introduction of noise resulted in significantly poorer dichotic word-recognition performance than in the quiet condition for the young adults. REAs, however, did not differ between the 2 conditions. Relative to the Roup et al. (2006) older adult data, performance of the young adults in the noise condition resulted in (a) similar levels of overall recognition performance and (b) significantly smaller REAs. Results suggest that the magnitude of the REA is not dependent upon the difficulty of the dichotic task. Rather, the large REAs exhibited by older adults are more likely related to age-related deficits in auditory processing.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
