No abstract

Age-related deficits in speech understanding are well documented. Because speech is a complex signal, containing time-varying acoustic cues, it is frequently hypothesized that aging adversely affects the ability to process temporal cues. This study examined the neural representation and perception of voice-onset-time, a temporal cue that distinguishes voiced /b/ from voiceless /p/ sounds. We found that older adults had more difficulty than younger listeners discriminating voice-onset contrasts. In addition, these same speech stimuli evoked abnormal neural responses in older adults. That is, compared with younger listeners, N1 and P2 long-latency auditory evoked responses were prolonged for older adults. Collectively, these results suggest speech perception difficulties described by older adults may be related to age-related changes regulating excitatory and inhibitory processes.

Purpose Although tinnitus is highly prevalent among patients receiving audiology services, audiologists are generally untrained in tinnitus management. Audiology graduate programs, as a rule, do not provide comprehensive instruction in tinnitus clinical care. Training programs that do exist are inconsistent in their recommendations. Furthermore, no standards exist to prevent the delivery of unvetted audiologic services, which can be expensive for patients. Patients seeking professional services by an audiologist, therefore, have no basis upon which to be assured they will receive research-based care. The purpose of this article is to describe the current status of tinnitus management services that exist within the general field of audiology and to suggest specific approaches for improving those services. Conclusion Audiologists may be in the best position to serve as the primary health care providers for patients experiencing tinnitus. Tinnitus care services by audiologists, however, must achieve a level of evidence-based standardization.