ABSTRACT
Purpose
Investigate the effects of cognitive processes and Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) in sentence recognition in noise among elderly users of hearing aids with and without cognitive disorders.
Methods
Study participants were 34 older adults, aged 64-87 years, with bilateral moderate sensorineural hearing loss, users of hearing aids for over a year. The individuals were divided into two groups: GA - without cognitive impairment (n=21) and GB - with cognitive impairment (n=13). In order to verify the adequate amplification of the hearing aids, participants of both groups underwent Visible Speech Mapping and had their Speech Intelligibility Indexes obtained. Subsequently, they were submitted to cognitive screening (10-CS) and the Brazilian Portuguese Sentence List Test. Evaluation consisted of a search for speech perception thresholds in noise (S/N ratio). This search was performed in free-field conditions first without and then with the hearing aids. Data were statistically analyzed at a significance level of 5% using the Chi-squared and Mann-Whitney tests.
Results
No statistically significant differences were observed between the SII results obtained in both groups either with or without hearing aids. These results demonstrate that the older individuals in the GA and GB present the same access to speech sounds with and without hearing aids. Individuals in the GA presented lower S/N ratio under both conditions.
Conclusion
Older individuals with better cognition present greater speech recognition in the presence of competitive noise.
Keywords:
Elderly; Hearing aids; Cognition; Speech intelligibility; Speech perception