Auditory processing in aging listeners.

Many aspects of auditory processing in aging listeners are poorly understood. Methodological problems encountered with the aging population, ranging from ear canal collapse to a conservative criterion, have rarely been considered in past research. The relation between pure-tone thresholds and other aspects of auditory functions is unclear. There have been few studies of frequency and temporal analysis in aging listeners. There is disagreement on the effect of age on speech discrimination abilities in various listening conditions, and the cause of speech perception problems in aging listeners has not been adequately investigated. Areas of importance for clinical consideration and auditory research with aging listeners are discussed.