Researchers Find Link Between Dementia And Sound Processing

22 Jul 2008
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115659.php

People who find it difficult to hear in complex situations with competing noise (such as one conversation among many) are also likely to suffer from mild memory impairment, according to a new study in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

Central auditory processing dysfunction is the term that researchers use for this type of hearing disorder. The diagnosis, the authors write, "Is applied to persons whose hearing in quiet settings is normal or near normal yet who have substantial hearing difficulty in the presence of auditory stressors such as competing noise and other difficult listening situations." It is important for people to have central auditory testing in order to assess the hearing abilities of individuals. The authors add that, "Poor central auditory ability, per se, is not helped by amplification and requires alternative rehabilitation strategies." Earlier research has shown that people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia often demonstrate central auditory processing impairment.

To further study the link between memory loss and auditory capability, George A. Gates, M.D. (University of Washington, Seattle) and colleagues studied 313 individuals who were about 80 years old and who began participating in a dementia surveillance program in 1994. The sample consisted of 232 controls with no memory loss, 17 individuals diagnosed with dementia, and 64 individuals diagnosed with mild memory impairment but no dementia.

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Memory Impairment Associated With Sound Processing Disorder

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0721162314.htm

ScienceDaily (July 23, 2008) — Mild memory impairment may be associated with central auditory processing dysfunction, or difficulty hearing in complex situations with competing noise, such as hearing a single conversation amid several other conversations, according to a new report.

"Central auditory processing dysfunction is a general term that is applied to persons whose hearing in quiet settings is normal or near normal yet who have substantial hearing difficulty in the presence of auditory stressors such as competing noise and other difficult listening situations," the authors write as background information in the article. "Central auditory testing is important in evaluating individuals with hearing difficulty, because poor central auditory ability, per se, is not helped by amplification and requires alternative rehabilitation strategies." Previous studies have shown that central auditory processing is impaired in individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.

George A. Gates, M.D., of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues assessed 313 individuals (average age 80 years) participating in a dementia surveillance program that began in 1994. These included 17 individuals who had been diagnosed with dementia, 64 with mild memory impairment but without a dementia diagnosis and 232 controls without memory loss.

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IMHO of course and my toilet agrees

You say an explanation is in order? OK, I just spent about three minutes waiting for my toilet's tank to refill so that I could walk. It's like that every time when I'm "off".

It is sensory overload and it can come from visual clutter as readily as from auditory. It is so pronounced that I now just lean against the wall non-chalantly and wait. As soon as it stops I can walk almost normally. The doorway presents a similar problem - so many straight lines going in different directions!

Schizophrenics have similar problems separating important stimuli from "chatter".