An understandable backup
Reviewed by Jennifer K Stott

This small study comparing the auditory temporal processing of seven younger adults with that of seven older adults does not show anything breathtakingly new in its conclusions. After the assessment to rule out compounding factors such as middle ear pathology, difference in pure tone hearing levels (within certain limitations) etc, the study focuses on four signal frequencies, 500Hz-4KHz, looking at the masker to signal ratio on the right ears. Testing times were limited to two hours. A clearly laid out study that provides enough information to recreate if required, but not one that easily translates to standard clinical practice just yet. It does, however, provide further evidence that the impact of age on hearing clarity goes beyond just the effects on the cochlea. 

Age-related changes in auditory temporal processing assessed using forward masking.  
Heidari P, Mohammadkhani G, Bayat A, et al.  
HEAR RES
2023;427:108665.