Mild hearing impairment can reduce verbal memory performance in a healthy adult population.

Abstract

We studied to what extent immediate and delayed recall in an auditory verbal learning paradigm was affected by basic information processing speed (digit copying) and hearing acuity (average hearing acuity at 1, 2 and 4 KHz at the better ear). A group of 453 individuals in the age between 23 and 82 years with no overt hearing pathology was recruited from a larger study of cognitive aging (Maastricht Aging Study, MAAS). After controlling for age, sex, educational level, and processing speed it was found that a mild to moderate hearing loss predicted lower verbal memory performance. Auditory administered verbal memory tests can underestimate true memory performance, particularly in older individuals with unknown hearing status. Short-term and long-term memory function is generally assessed in clinical practice by using multi-trial word learning tests, such as the Buschke selective reminding paradigm, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the Califor-nia Verbal Learning Test (Lezak, 1995). In suc