Dementia Creates Listening Issues in Quiet, Noisy Environments #ASA181

Newswise — SEATTLE, December 1, 2021 — Listening to the spoken word in noisy environments is challenging for everyone. Acoustic studies show people with mild dementia struggle to understand speech in both noisy and quiet environments, highlighting the need for everyone to communicate clearly.

During the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held Nov. 29-Dec. 3, Kate McClannahan, from Washington University School of Medicine, will discuss how background noise impacts spoken word recognition in people with mild dementia. The talk, “The effect of mild dementia on speech perception in quiet and noise,” will take place Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 11:50 a.m. Eastern U.S. at the Hyatt Regency Seattle.

Difficulty in understanding speech, especially in background noise, is a common concern for older adults. Using a word identification task in quiet and noisy…

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