Background: The known link between auditory perception and cognition is often overlooked when testing for cognition.
Purpose: To evaluate auditory perception in a group of older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Research design: A cross-sectional study of auditory perception.
Study sample: Adults with MCI and adults with no documented cognitive issues and matched hearing sensitivity and age.
Data collection: Auditory perception was evaluated in both groups, assessing for hearing sensitivity, speech in babble (SinB), and temporal resolution.
Results: Mann-Whitney test revealed significantly poorer scores for SinB and temporal resolution abilities of MCIs versus normal controls for both ears. The right-ear gap detection thresholds on the Gaps-In-Noise (GIN) Test clearly differentiated between the two groups (p < 0.001), with no overlap of values. The left ear results also differentiated the two groups (p < 0.01); however, there was a small degree of overlap ∼8-msec threshold values. With the exception of the left-ear inattentiveness index, which showed a similar distribution between groups, both impulsivity and inattentiveness indexes were higher for the MCIs compared to the control group.
Conclusions: The results support central auditory processing evaluation in the elderly population as a promising tool to achieve earlier diagnosis of dementia, while identifying central auditory processing deficits that can contribute to communication deficits in the MCI patient population. A measure of temporal resolution (GIN) may offer an early, albeit indirect, measure reflecting left temporal cortical thinning associated with the transition between MCI and Alzheimer's disease.
American Academy of Audiology