Have you ever taken a class, or attended a lecture, where the ideas were presented so rapidly or in so complex a fashion that you learned almost nothing? If so, your working memory was most likely overwhelmed past its total capacity.
Working memory and its limits
All of us process information in three steps: 1) sensory information is received, where it is 2) either ignored or temporarily retained in working memory, and finally, 3) either disposed of or stored in long-term memory.
The trouble is, there is a limit to the quantity of information your working memory can hold. Picture your working memory as an empty container: you can fill it with water, but after it’s full, extra water just pours out the edge.
That’s why, if you’re talking to someone who’s distracted or on their cell phone, your words are just flowing out of their already filled working memory. So you have to repeat yourself, which they’ll fully grasp only when they empty their cognitive cup, dedicating the mental resources necessary to fully grasp your message.
The impact of hearing loss on working memory
So what does working memory have to do with hearing loss? In regards to speech comprehension, just about everything.
If you have hearing loss, especially high-frequency hearing loss (the most typical), you most likely have trouble hearing the higher-pitched consonant sounds of speech. Consequently, it’s easy to misunderstand what is said or to miss words completely.
But that’s not all. In combination with not hearing some spoken words, you’re also straining your working memory as you try to perceive speech using supplemental information like context and visual cues.
This continuous processing of incomplete information burdens your working memory beyond its capacity. And to complicate matters, as we age, the capacity of our working memory declines, exacerbating the consequences.
Working memory and hearing aids
Hearing loss burdens working memory, brings about stress, and impedes communication. But what about hearing aids? Hearing aids are intended to enhance hearing, so in theory hearing aids should free up working memory and improve speech comprehension, right?
That’s precisely what Jamie Desjardins, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Speech-Language Pathology Program at The University of Texas at El Paso, was intending to find out.
DesJardins studied a group of men and women in their 50s and 60s with two-sided hearing loss who had never worn hearing aids. They took a preliminary cognitive test that measured working memory, attention, and information processing speed, before ever wearing a pair of hearing aids.
After wearing hearing aids for two weeks, the group retook the test. What DesJardins found was that the group participants exhibited considerable enhancement in their cognitive aptitude, with greater short-term recall and faster processing speed. The hearing aids had expanded their working memory, reduced the quantity of information tied up in working memory, and helped them accelerate the speed at which they processed information.
The implications of the study are wide ranging. With improved cognitive function, hearing aid users could find enhancement in practically every aspect of their lives. Better speech comprehension and memory can improve conversations, strengthen relationships, enhance learning, and augment productivity at work.
This experiment is one that you can test out for yourself. Our hearing aid trial period will permit you to carry out your own no-risk experiment to find out if you can accomplish similar improvements in memory and speech comprehension.
Are you up for the challenge?