Auditory Training in the Aural Rehabilitation of Older Adults: Utopia or Reality?

Abstract

The aging of population and the increase in average life expectancy are a challenge for informal caregivers, health professionals and society in general. These age-related changes are manifested by the degradation of anatomical, physiological, and auditory structures and functions. The aging process brings changes that can influence auditory processing. Age-related hearing loss, presbycusis, is caused by a bilateral and progressive degradation of hair cells in the inner ear, which affects mainly the basal area of the cochlea. One of the main difficulties in the elderly diagnosed with presbycusis is the discrimination of the sound stimulus, especially in acoustically unfavorable environments. The auditory pathways of the central nervous system are also affected with aging, worsen the difficulty in decoding verbal and nonverbal stimuli. The lack of speech perception, especially in reverberant environments or with competing noise, leads to communication difficulties and, as a result, other difficulties arise, such as social isolation, depression, and anxiety which brings direct repercussions on the quality of life of the elderly [1].