Risk Markers for the Graded Severity of Auditory Processing Abnormality in an Older Australian Population: The Blue Mountains Hearing Study

 

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A recent report from a population-based survey of hearing loss in 2015 older adults showed that the overall prevalence of central auditory processing (CAP) abnormality was high at 76.4% using abnormality on one or more of seven speech-based test outcomes as the criteria. The present study grouped these test outcomes to reflect increasing severity of CAP abnormality and examined the relationship between this graded dependent variable and 16 independent variables. Logistic regression modeling suggested that moderate and severe CAP abnormality increased with age and was associated with increased hearing handicap, and men were more likely than women to show severe abnormality. While 98.5% of the population passed a cognitive screening assessment, declining cognitive function was still associated with the increased likelihood of CAP abnormality.