Speech-in-Speech Listening on the LiSN-S Test by Older Adults With Good Audiograms Depends on Cognition and Hearing Acuity at High Frequencies

LiSN-S outcomes were poorer for adults aged 65 years or older, even those with good audiograms, compared with younger adults and also compared with people up to the age of 60 years from a previous study. In the present study, regardless of the types of cues, auditory and cognitive interactions were reflected by the combined influences on LiSN-S outcomes of high-frequency hearing acuity and measures of linguistic and cognitive processing. The data also suggest a hierarchy in the deployment of processing resources, which would account for the observed shift from linguistic abilities in the younger group to general cognitive abilities in the older group.