Aging working population: Hearing impairment a growing challenge for the working environment

Abstract

Population developments raise expectations of an aging working population. These create new challenges for the working world. One is to deal with age-related impairments such as hearing impairment which impacts performance due to impairment of speech comprehension, memory performance and can lead to safety risks. In order to compensate this proactively a basic question has to be answered: Are problems in auditory processing and memory performance due to deficits in peripheral hearing or due to age-related or secondary deficits in central processing components? Two studies were conducted to check the role of peripheral factors. Young normal hearing participants have to perform a verbal memory task under different hearing conditions that simulate hearing impairment. The results show significant effects of induced hearing impairment and provide further evidence that verbal memory performance deficits of hearing impaired are based on a peripheral hearing loss/early processing stages and maybe less on central processing components.