Study of self-related hearing difficulties and performance of speech in noise in adults of different ages

Abstract

Introduction: The aging process promotes a decline in auditory function, with the loss of sensitivity being the most studied, however, due to the complexity of the auditory system there is evidence that even with conserved tone thresholds there is impairment of speech intelligibility, both in adults and in seniors. The decline of self-perception makes it possible to clarify how the evolution of a certain aspect of health occurs, both for clinical-assistance measures and for research. The use of self-assessment questionnaires are useful in quantifying the impacts caused by auditory difficulty in activities of daily living, but to date there is a parsimony of studies that correlate clinical measures with subjective evaluations, as well as studies aimed at populations of different and presence of peripheral and central auditory integrity. Objective: To investigate the aging of different hearing processes due to the perception of self-reported hearing difficulties. Methods: The sample will consist of 40 volunteers, of both sexes, in the age range of 18 to 59 years. Exclusion factors: presence of specialized medical diagnosis of chronic neurological and / or psychiatric diseases under treatment; presence of hearing loss or hearing loss; altered score in the Mental State Mini Examination Inventory (MMSE). All volunteers will be submitted to Threshold Tone Audiometry, Audiometry, Acoustic Immitance Measurements, MEEM, Amsterdam Inventory Auditory Disability and Handcap in Brazilian Portuguese, Dichotic Digit Test and Frequency Pattern, and Sentence List in Portuguese.