Effect of noise and reverberation on speech recognition and listening effort for older adults.

The older adults had poorer speech perception ability and required more listening effort than their younger counterparts in all conditions. Reverberation reversely significantly affected the speech recognition and listening effort for the older adults when compared with the background noise, suggesting that an appropriate level of noise and reverberation should be considered for comfort and a less stressful listening environment for the older adult population. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1603-1608.