Epidemiological studies have linked age-related hearing loss (ARHL) with an increased risk of neurocognitive decline. Difficulties in speech perception with subsequent changes in brain morphometry, including regions important for lexical-semantic memory, are thought to be a possible mechanism for this relationship. This study investigated differences in automatic and executive lexical-semantic processes on verbal fluency tasks in individuals with acquired hearing loss. The primary outcomes were indices of automatic (clustering/word retrieval at start of task) and executive (switching/word retrieval after start of the task) processes from semantic and phonemic fluency tasks. To extract indices of clustering and switching, we used both manual and computerised methods. There were no differences between groups on indices of executive fluency processes or on any indices from the semantic fluency task. The hearing loss group demonstrated weaker automatic processes on the phonemic fluency task. Further research into differences in lexical-semantic processes with ARHL is warranted.

中文翻译：

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患有与年龄有关的听力损失的老年人口语流利度过程发生了变化。

流行病学研究已将与年龄有关的听力损失（ARHL）与神经认知功能下降的风险增加联系起来。语音感知上的困难以及随后的大脑形态测量变化，包括对词汇语义记忆重要的区域，被认为是这种关系的可能机制。这项研究调查了获得性听力损失的人在语言流利性任务的自动和执行词汇语义过程中的差异。主要结果是语义和音素流畅任务的自动（任务开始时的聚类/单词检索）和执行（任务开始后的切换/单词检索）索引。为了提取聚类和交换的索引，我们使用了手动方法和计算机方法。组之间在执行人员流利度过程的索引或语义流利度任务的任何索引上没有差异。听力损失组在音素流畅性任务上显示出较弱的自动过程。有必要对ARHL的词汇语义过程中的差异进行进一步的研究。