Research objectives and hypotheses
hearing loss
HEARING LOSS
Given the association between hearing loss and cognitive and physical impairment, there is great value in identifying treatment strategies targeted at delaying or mitigating further decline. The primary objective of our research is to establish the efficacy of an at-home computerized executive function training program on complex auditory and motor functioning measured under both laboratory and simulated real-world conditions. Behavioural and neuroimaging data will be collected in middle-aged and older adults with normal hearing sensitivity thresholds, as well as older hearing aid users.It is hypothesized that executive function training will lead to greater improvements in dual-task performance compared to no training (i.e., wait-list control group). Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the greatest improvements will be seen in older hearing aid users, followed by older adults with normal hearing, and then middle-aged adults. We also predict a differential pattern of neural plasticity as a function of age/hearing group following executive function training.