نوع مقاله : مقاله مروری
نویسندگان
1 دانشیار، علوم اعصاب شنوایی، مرکز تحقیقات گوش، گلو، بینی و سروگردن، پژوهشکده سلامت حواس پنجگانه، مجتمع آموزشی و پژوهشی و درمانی
2 دکترای تخصصی شنوایی شناسی، دانشیارگروه شنوایی شناسی، دانشکده علوم توانبخشی، دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهید بهشتی، تهران، ایران
3 گروه هنرهای نمایشی، دانشکدگان هنرهای زیبا، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران.
4 دانشجوی دکتری تخصصی شنواییشناسی، عضو کادر آموزشی گروه شناییشناسی، دانشکده علوم توانبخشی، دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهید بهشتی، تهران،
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Background:
Age-related auditory decline is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional process that extends beyond pure-tone threshold elevation. Subtle changes in auditory processing, particularly under challenging listening conditions such as speech-in-noise, may emerge as early as midlife. These changes often increase listening effort and cognitive load, potentially compromising memory performance even when conventional audiometric measures remain within normal limits.
Objective:
This narrative review aims to synthesize current evidence on the relationship between auditory aging, listening effort, cognitive load, and memory performance, with a specific focus on middle-aged adults. Emphasis is placed on short-term and episodic memory as sensitive cognitive domains reflecting the downstream consequences of effortful listening.
Methods:
A narrative review approach was employed to integrate behavioral, cognitive, and neurophysiological findings published primarily after 2000. Studies addressing auditory processing beyond pure-tone sensitivity, effortful listening, memory function, and associated neural markers were selectively reviewed, with middle adulthood considered a critical yet underexplored period.
Results:
The reviewed evidence suggests that even mild auditory processing changes in midlife can substantially increase cognitive load during speech perception. To maintain adequate speech understanding, individuals increasingly rely on compensatory cognitive mechanisms, reallocating attentional and working memory resources. While such mechanisms support immediate comprehension, they incur a hidden cognitive cost, manifested as reduced efficiency in memory encoding and subsequent recall, particularly for episodic information.
Conclusion:
Middle adulthood represents a critical window for observing the mechanisms linking auditory decline to cognitive vulnerability, rather than merely their clinical consequences. Integrating auditory, cognitive, and neural perspectives highlights the limitations of threshold-based hearing assessment and underscores the importance of evaluating listening effort and memory function. This framework supports earlier identification of cognitive vulnerability and informs more comprehensive, prevention-oriented approaches in audiological practice.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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