Age-Related Differences in Comprehending Speech in Competition

The ability to discriminate speech with background noise decreases with age. This study examined the effect of masker type and spatial location in older and young adults. Using Portable Automated Rapid Testing software on an iPad, participants were asked to understand target speech (always simulated at 0° azimuth) in the presence of speech or ‘garbled speech’ maskers (simulated from 0°, 6°, or 45° azimuth spatial locations). Additionally, suprathreshold sensitivities to temporal (TM), spectral (SM), and spectrotemporal (STM) modulation as well as binaural temporal fine structure (TFS) were estimated. Older adults showed worse speech in competition (SiC) performance with 6° and 45°, but not 0°, masker spatial locations and benefited less from only 45° of spatial separation compared to young controls for speech masking. For garbled-speech masking, older adults showed worse performance overall, but benefited similarly from spatial separation compared to young controls. Older adults also showed worse sensitivity for binaural TFS, but comparable TM, SM, and STM sensitivity. Age as well as TM and SM sensitivities predicted SiC performance, whereas STM and binaural TFS sensitivities did not. These findings expand our knowledge of how aging affects SiC comprehension and provide insight into training programs to improve older adults’ SiC performance.