Evaluation of cognitive functions in the elderly with and without central auditory processing disorder

Abstract

Purpose: Evaluate and compare the performance of cognitive functions between elderly with and without auditory processing disorders. Methods: Twenty-eight healthy elderly (14 Control group and 14 Auditory Processing Disorder group - APD group) participated in the study. All elderly were submitted to (central) auditory processing evaluation, P300 event-related potential and brief cognitive battery (BCB). In the comparison between subjects, the Mann-Whitney test was applied and in the intra-subjects comparison, the Wilcoxon signed rank test was used. To verify if there was an association between the performance of the PAC and the cognitive variables, Spearman’s correlation was used. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the Control and APD groups for the cognitive abilities assessed by BCB, as well as for the P300 cognitive potential variables. Conclusion: Elderly with auditory processing disorders do not seem to show greater cognitive difficulties compared to elderly of the same age group without auditory processing disorders, exception of the clock drawing test, whose task involves multiple cognitive functions, including visuospatial processing, executive function, semantic memory, and planning.