Influence of Age on Speech Recognition in Noise and Hearing Effort in Listeners with Age-Related Hearing Loss.

The aim of this study was to measure how age affects the speech recognition threshold (SRT 50 ) of the Oldenburg Sentence Test (OLSA) and the listening effort at the corresponding signal-to-noise ratio (SNR cut ). The study also investigated the effect of the spatial configuration of sound sources and noise signals on SRT 50 and SNR cut . To achieve this goal, the study used olnoise and icra5 noise presented from one or more spatial locations from the front and back. Ninety-nine participants with age-related hearing loss in the 18-80 years age range, specifically in the 18-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, and 71-80 age groups, participated in this study. Speech recognition and listening effort in noise were measured and compared between the different age groups, different spatial sound configurations and noise signals. Speech recognition in noise decreased with age and became significant from the age group of 50-51. The decrease in SRT 50 with age was greater for icra5 noise than for olnoise. For all age groups, SRT 50 and SNR cut were better for icra5 noise than for olnoise. The measured age-related reference data for SRT 50 and SNR cut can be used in further studies in listeners with age-related hearing loss and hearing aid or implant users.