Age Effects on Measures of Auditory Duration Discrimination

1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 662-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Fitzgibbons ◽  
Sandra Gordon-Salant
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Stimulus Frequency ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Duration Discrimination ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Choice Procedure ◽  
Forced Choice Procedure ◽  
Tonal Stimuli ◽  
Young And Elderly Subjects

This study examined auditory temporal sensitivity in young adult and elderly listeners using psychophysical tasks that measured duration discrimination. Listeners in the experiments were divided into groups of young and elderly subjects with normal hearing sensitivity and with mild-to-moderate sloping sensorineural hearing loss. Temporal thresholds in all tasks were measured with an adaptive forced-choice procedure using tonal stimuli centered at 500 Hz and 4000 Hz. Difference limens for duration were measured for tone bursts (250 msec reference duration) and for silent intervals between tone bursts (250 msec and 6.4 msec reference durations). Results showed that the elderly listeners exhibited diminished duration discrimination for both tones and silent intervals when the reference duration was 250 msec. Hearing loss did not affect these results. Discrimination of the brief temporal gap (6.4 msec) was influenced by age and hearing loss, but these effects were not consistent across all listeners. Effects of stimulus frequency were not evident for most of the duration discrimination conditions.

Duration Discrimination in Listeners With Cochlear Hearing Loss

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Grose ◽  
Joseph W. Hall ◽  
Emily Buss
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Stimulus Change ◽  
Duration Discrimination ◽  
Center Frequency ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Cochlear Hearing Loss ◽  
Pure Tones ◽  
Tonal Stimuli ◽  
Temporal Judgments ◽  
Narrow Bands

This study examined the effects of cochlear hearing loss on the ability to discriminate increments in the duration of a stimulus under conditions where the frequency and/or amplitude of the stimulus change dynamically. Three stimulus types were used: pure tones, frequency-modulated tones, and narrow bands of noise. The carrier/center frequency of each 250-ms stimulus either remained constant at 1035 Hz or varied randomly from presentation to presentation across the frequency range 432–2804 Hz. Two groups of listeners participated: 9 with bilateral cochlear hearing loss and 7 with normal hearing sensitivity. The results showed no differences in performance between the 2 groups. However, both groups showed poorer duration discrimination for the conditions where the carrier/center frequency changed randomly than for the conditions where the carrier/center frequency remained constant. In addition, performance was poorer for the narrowband noise stimuli than for the tonal stimuli. This pattern of results suggests that across-frequency temporal judgments are more difficult than isofrequency temporal judgments, but that cochlear hearing loss does not exacerbate this difficulty per se.

Influences of Age and Hearing Loss on the Precedence Effect in Sound Localization

1993 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry L. Cranford ◽  
Marci A. Andres ◽  
Kristi K. Piatz ◽  
Kay L. Reissig
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Precedence Effect ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Tentative Evidence ◽  
Young And Elderly Subjects

Cranford, Boose, & Moore (1990a) reported that many elderly persons exhibit problems in perceiving the apparent location of fused auditory images in a sound localization task involving the Precedence Effect (PE). In the earlier study, differences in peripheral hearing sensitivity between young and elderly subjects were not controlled. In the present study, four groups of young and elderly subjects, matched with respect to age and the presence or absence of sensorineural hearing loss, were examined to determine the effects of these two factors on performance with the PE task. Although significantly poorer performances on the PE task were found to be associated with both increased age and hearing loss, additional tentative evidence was obtained that the presence of hearing loss may have a relatively greater detrimental effect on the performance of at least some elderly subjects than it does on younger persons.

Atrial natriuretic peptide suppresses osmostimulated vasopressin release in young and elderly humans

1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (2) ◽  
pp. E252-E256 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Clark ◽  
D. Elahi ◽  
L. Fish ◽  
M. McAloon-Dyke ◽  
K. Davis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Natriuretic Peptide ◽  
Hypertonic Saline ◽  
Natriuretic Peptide ◽  
Serum Sodium ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Sodium Concentration ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Vasopressin Release ◽  
Young And Elderly Subjects ◽  
Atrial Natriuretic

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) may suppress vasopressin release, but the dynamics of this interaction as well as the influence of age have not been defined. We studied six or seven young (19-40 yr old) and seven elderly volunteers (65-83 yr old) under two circumstances: 1) after infusion of 5% saline (0.04 ml.kg-1.min-1) for 2 h and 2) after the same infusion given with simultaneous synthetic human ANP (0.05 micrograms.kg-1.min-1). Hypertonic saline alone produced a progressive rise in plasma vasopressin with increasing serum sodium. During hypertonic saline alone, vasopressin levels began to rise at an increment in serum sodium of 1.67 +/- 0.35 mM in the young and 1.43 +/- 0.32 mM in the elderly and rose linearly with increasing serum sodium. When ANP was infused with hypertonic saline (with peak ANP levels of approximately 1,000 pM), vasopressin levels began to rise at an increment in serum sodium of 4.43 +/- 0.67 mM in the young and 4.57 +/- 0.43 mM in the elderly (P less than 0.01 vs. saline alone). Furthermore, the vasopressin response for any given serum sodium was significantly reduced in both young and elderly subjects, resulting in a rightward displacement of the curve relating vasopressin response to sodium concentration (P less than 0.001). In conclusion, ANP not only suppresses vasopressin but raises the threshold for release of vasopressin in response to osmotic stimulation in both young and elderly individuals. High circulating ANP levels may be responsible in part for the suppression of vasopressin levels and water diuresis seen during states of volume expansion.

Training-related enhancement in the control of motor output in elderly humans

1994 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 2648-2658 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Keen ◽  
G. H. Yue ◽  
R. M. Enoka
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Motor Unit ◽  
Maximum Voluntary Contraction ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Contraction Force ◽  
Unit Force ◽  
Young And Elderly Subjects ◽  
Elderly Humans

The increase in motor unit force that occurs with aging has been hypothesized to cause a decline in the ability to maintain a constant submaximal force. To test this hypothesis, young and elderly subjects performed a 12-wk strength-training program that was intended to increase motor unit force. The training program caused similar increases (%initial) in the training load (137.4 +/- 17.2%), twitch force (23.1 +/- 7.4%), and maximum voluntary contraction force (39.2 +/- 6.8%) of the first dorsal interosseus muscle for the young and elderly subjects. The increase in strength was associated with a modest increase in muscle volume (7% of initial value) and a nonmonotonic increase in the surface-recorded electromyogram that was significant at week 8 but not at week 12. The elderly subjects reduced the variability in force at the lower target forces (2.5, 5.0, and 20.0% maximum voluntary contraction force). This improvement, however, was unrelated to changes in the distribution of motor unit forces, which was not consistent with the hypothesis that the greater coefficient of variation for the force fluctuations is due to increased motor unit forces.

Ageing and the α2-adrenergic system of the platelet

1987 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 507-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela B. Davis ◽  
Catherine Silski
Keyword(s):  
Cyclic Amp ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Adrenergic System ◽  
Scatchard Analysis ◽  
Adrenergic Agents ◽  
Α2 Adrenoceptor ◽  
Effector System ◽  
Potent Agonist ◽  
Young And Elderly Subjects

1. Platelets taken from healthy unmedicated subjects over 65 years of age display less inhibition of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1)-stimulated adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) synthesis by noradrenaline than do platelets taken from young adults aged 18–25 years (P < 0.03). The inhibition of cyclic AMP production by noradrenaline (10−5 mol/l) correlates negatively with age over the range 18–92 years (r = −0.338, n = 108, P < 0.005). The reduced cyclic AMP inhibition by noradrenaline in the elderly is not explained by basal cyclic AMP levels or degree of stimulation of platelets by PGE1, which do not differ between young and elderly subjects. The reduction itself is small, though, and cannot be demonstrated for a more potent agonist, adrenaline. 2. Despite the reduced noradrenaline response in the cyclic AMP system in the aged, platelet aggregation in response to α2-adrenergic agents is normal or even slightly increased. Aggregation responses to adrenergic agents correlate well with aggregation responses to adenosine 5′-diphosphate, suggesting that the effector system is a major determinant of the aggregation response. 3. α2-Adrenoceptor number measured by Scatchard analysis of equilibrium binding of [3H]yohimbine to platelet membranes is comparable in young and old subjects, and does not correlate with age. The KD for [3H]yohimbine does not correlate with age. The IC50 for noradrenaline displacing [3H]yohimbine is comparable in young and elderly subjects. Therefore the reduced inhibition of cyclic AMP production by noradrenaline in platelets from elderly subjects is not explained by changes in α2-adrenoceptor number, or agonist- or antagonist-binding properties, but may reside in the coupling of receptor to cyclase.

scholarly journals Loss of Hearing Sensitivity in the Elderly

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (05) ◽  
pp. 01-03
Author(s):  
Filomena da Ponte
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Degree Of Satisfaction ◽  
Movement Ability ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Loss Of Hearing

Aging, consensually assumed as a process that affects and alters significantly the cognitive and behavioral functions of the human being , encompassing multiple effects on a number of clinically significant variables , the most important being those that directly relate to the movement, ability to balance the effectiveness of mental functioning and sensory functions such as taste, smell , sight and hearing . Hearing loss in the elderly, scientifically called presbiacustia emerges quietly and is increased progressively with advancing age. This study had as its aim to contribute to the achievement of the best quality of life for elderly individuals with hearing loss (presbycusis). Thus, the objectives targeted were: trying to understand the motivations of the elderly to the use of hearing aids; determine the degree of satisfaction of users of these prostheses; evaluate how Preabycusis affects the quality of life of the elderly. The method used was qualitative oriented once interviewed the elderly users of the home. The sample was composed of 110 participants, with presbycusis, 69 female and 41 male (institutionalized seniors).

scholarly journals Calcium excretion, apparent calcium absorption and calcium balance in young and elderly subjects: influence of protein intake

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 721-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphne L. E. Pannemans ◽  
Gertjan Schaafsma ◽  
Klaas R. Westerterp
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Protein Intake ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Calcium Excretion ◽  
Calcium Balance ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Young And Elderly Subjects

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary protein on urinary Ca excretion, apparent Ca absorption and Ca balance in young and elderly subjects. Young adults (n 29) and elderly persons (n 26) consumed diets containing 12% (diet A) and 21% (diet B) of total energy as protein for 3 weeks according to a randomized crossover design. Results showed no differences between the two age groups with respect to the interaction between protein intake and Ca excretion (both in urine and in faeces), apparent Ca absorption and Ca balance. Therefore analyses were done for both age groups separately and also for the whole group. In elderly persons and in the whole group the Ca excretion in faeces (as a percentage of Ca intake) was lower during the higher protein intake (elderly: diet A, 106 (SEM 7)% diet B, 86 (SEM 7) % P = 0·018; whole group: diet A, 99 (SEM 4) % diet B, 84 (SEM 4) % P = 0·003). In young adults faecal Ca excretion tended to be lower when they consumed diet B (diet A: 94 (SEM 5)% diet B: 83 (SEM 6)% P = 0·093). Relative urinary Ca excretion was greater during the higher protein intake in young adults and in the whole group while relative urinary Ca excretion was not different in the elderly (diet A: 15 (SEM 1) %, 14 (SEM 1) %, 15 (SEM 1) % diet B: 16 (SEM 1) %, 16 (SEM 1) % 17 (SEM 2) % for the whole group, the young and elderly subjects respectively, P = 0·019; P = 0·016; P = 0·243).The resulting Ca balance was not influenced by the amount of protein in the diet in young adults. Values for the elderly and for the whole group showed that the Ca balance during diet A was significantly more negative compared with Ca balance during diet B, despite the higher urinary Ca excretion during diet B. It can be concluded that increasing the protein intake from 12 to 21% of total energy ntake had no negative effect on Ca balance.

Frequency of gastroesophageal reflux events induced by pharyngeal water stimulation in young and elderly subjects

1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (2) ◽  
pp. G233-G237 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Xie ◽  
J. Ren ◽  
E. Bardan ◽  
R. K. Mittal ◽  
Z. Sui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastroesophageal Reflux ◽  
Lower Esophageal Sphincter ◽  
Abdominal Segment ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Postprandial Period ◽  
Esophageal Sphincter ◽  
Young Subjects ◽  
Young And Elderly Subjects

Earlier studies have shown that isolated complete lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation occurs as a result of pharyngeal water stimulation. Association of these relaxations with gastroesophageal reflux has not been studied systematically. Our aim was to determine this association in young and elderly subjects during precibal and postprandial periods. We studied 8 young subjects and 10 elderly subjects for 1 h before and 2 h after a 1,000-cal meal. In both groups, during the precibal period, negligible LES relaxation induced by pharyngeal water stimulation resulted in gastroesophageal reflux. In the postprandial period, gastroesophageal reflux events occurred after 16% of pharyngeal water injections in young subjects and after 44% in elderly subjects (P < 0.05). Intraabdominal length of the LES in elderly subjects was significantly shorter compared with younger subjects (P < 0.05). We conclude that gastroesophageal reflux events induced by pharyngeal water stimulation in the postprandial period are significantly increased compared with those of the precibal period and are significantly more prevalent in the elderly compared with the young. These differences seem to be associated with a significantly shorter intra-abdominal segment of the LES in the elderly.

Speech Identification Difficulties of Hearing-Impaired Elderly Persons

1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry E. Humes ◽  
Laurel Christopherson
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Identification Score ◽  
Masking Noise ◽  
Speech Identification

This study examined the performance of four subject groups on several temporally based measures of auditory processing and several measures of speech identification. The four subject groups were (a) young normal-hearing adults; (b) hearing-impaired elderly subjects ranging in age from 65 to 75 years; (c) hearing-impaired elderly adults ranging in age from 76 to 86 years; and (d) young normal-hearing listeners with hearing loss simulated with a spectrally shaped masking noise adjusted to match the actual hearing loss of the two elderly groups. In addition to between-group analyses of performance on the auditory processing and speech identification tasks, correlational and regression analyses within the two groups of elderly hearing-impaired listeners were performed. The results revealed that the threshold elevation accompanying sensorineural hearing loss was the primary factor affecting the speech identification performance of the hearing-impaired elderly subjects both as groups and as individuals. However, significant increases in the proportion of speech identification score variance accounted for were obtained in the elderly subjects by including various measures of auditory processing.

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