Cognitive control in age-related hearing loss

Purpose: Growing evidence suggests that cognitive changes occur in individuals with age-related hearing loss (ARHL), with earliest changes in cognitive control. Cognitive control refers to a broad class of mental operations that allow goal-directed behavior and includes processes of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory updating. Cognitive control is critical for everyday activities, including the ability to recognize speech in noisy environments, which is challenging for individuals with ARHL. Few studies have systematically investigated alterations in various cognitive control processes in individuals with unaided mild ARHL and how these processes relate to speech-in-noise (SiN) recognition. The primary goal of this dissertation was to investigate cognitive control changes in individuals with unaided mild ARHL. The secondary goal was to examine associations between SiN recognition and cognitive control processes. Method: Three studies were conducted to examine cognitive control in individuals with ARHL. The findings of each study informed the goal of the next. The first study reviewed literature on associations between hearing ability and three cognitive control processes (cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory updating) in individuals with ARHL and the links between SiN recognition and these cognitive control processes. The second study examined behavioral alterations in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control in individuals with unaided mild ARHL relative to age- and education-matched normal hearing (NH) controls. Additionally, associations between SiN recognition and cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control were explored. The final study used event-related electroencephalography to examine neural alterations in inhibitory control in individuals with unaided mild ARHL relative to NH controls and the links between SiN recognition and neural correlates of inhibitory control. Results/Discussion: The literature review revealed consistent evidence for associations between hearing ability and cognitive flexibility/working memory updating involving complex tasks in individuals with ARHL. Whereas, evidence for association between hearing ability and inhibitory control was mixed. In general, working memory updating has been more extensively studied in individuals with ARHL compared to cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. Also, very few have examined multiple cognitive control processes in older adults with unaided mild ARHL in the same study. Studies two and three revealed behavioral and neural alterations in inhibitory control in older adults with unaided mild ARHL relative to age-matched NH controls. Additionally, worse SiN recognition was related to greater alterations in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. Overall, the findings suggest that inhibitory control alterations are noted even in those with unaided mild ARHL and these go above and beyond typical aging-related cognitive changes. Furthermore, our work suggests that cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control are critical for listening in complex environments in older adults, including those with mild ARHL. This dissertation contributes knowledge that informs clinical practice related to individuals with mild ARHL and supports theoretical postulations that suggest neural alterations related to changes in cognition in ARHL.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Speech & Hearing Science

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Shende, Shraddha Arun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mudar, Raksha A.
• Husain, Fatima T.
• Kirk, Karen I.
• Mertes, Ian B.

• Age-related hearing loss
• cognitive control
• speech-in-noise

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Shraddha Shende

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115912

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115912