Event-Related Potentials as Markers of Age-Related Changes of Spatial Hearing in Normal-Hearing Adults.
Mariam Alzaher, Pauline Nieto, Kuzma Strelnikov and 2 others
PMID 41733906WHAT IT FOUND
Middle-aged and older adults with normal hearing scores had worse localization and speech-in-noise perception than younger adults.
The brain's mismatch response did not track these age-related spatial declines, but early cortical responses to sounds did correlate with age and behavioral deficits.
Key findings
01Older and middle-aged groups showed significantly worse sound localization accuracy (higher RMS error) compared to the young group.
02The mismatch negativity (MMN) component did not show significant differences in amplitude across the age groups, failing to reflect the behavioral spatial decline.
03N100 amplitudes varied significantly by group, with older adults showing different neural responses to standard stimuli that correlated with age and behavioral performance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used a small sample size (n=29) divided into three groups, limiting statistical power. Audiometric testing was limited to frequencies up to 8 kHz, so extended high-frequency hearing loss, which can affect spatial cues, was not assessed. The clustering was data-driven based on performance, which creates circularity if the same variables are used to define groups and then analyze differences. The passive oddball paradigm required participants to ignore sounds, which may not reflect active listening conditions used in clinical practice.
Declared interests
The authors disclosed receipt of financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article, but the specific funder or nature of the support is not detailed in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that normal pure-tone audiometry rules out spatial hearing deficits. The study shows that middle-aged and older adults with normal thresholds had significantly worse localization and speech-in-noise perception than younger adults, indicating that functional hearing can decline even when clinical hearing tests appear normal.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →