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Hearing loss in old age, which often goes untreated, has far-reaching consequences. Furthermore, reduction of cognitive abilities and dementia can also occur, which also affects quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the hearing performance of seniors without hearing complaints with respect to speech perception in noise and the ability to localize sounds. Results were tested for correlations with age and cognitive performance. The study included 40 subjects aged between 60 and 90 years (mean age: 69.3 years) with not self-reported hearing problems. The subjects were screened for dementia. Audiological tests included pure-tone audiometry and speech perception in two types of background noise (continuous and amplitude-modulated noise) which was either co-located or spatially separated (multi-source noise field, MSNF) from the target speech. Sound localization ability was assessed and hearing performance was self-evaluated by a questionnaire. Speech in noise and sound localization was compared with young normal hearing adults. Although considering themselves as hearing normal, 17 subjects had at least a mild hearing loss. There was a significant negative correlation between hearing loss and dementia screening (DemTect) score. Speech perception in noise decreased significantly with age. There were significant negative correlations between speech perception in noise and DemTect score for both spatial configurations. Mean SRTs obtained in the co-located noise condition with amplitude-modulated noise were on average 3.1 dB better than with continuous noise. This gap-listening effect was severely diminished compared to a younger normal hearing subject group. In continuous noise, spatial separation of speech and noise led to better SRTs compared to the co-located masker condition. SRTs in MSNF deteriorated in modulated noise compared to continuous noise by 2.6 dB. Highest impact of age was found for speech perception scores using noise stimuli with temporal modulation in binaural test conditions. Mean localization error was in the range of young adults. Mean amount of front/back confusions was 11.5% higher than for young adults. Speech perception tests in the presence of temporally modulated noise can serve as a screening method for early detection of hearing disorders in older adults. This allows for early prescription of hearing aids.
Previous studies detected an influence of urban characteristics on song traits in passerine birds, that is, song adjustments to ambient noise in urban areas. Several studies already described the effect of weather conditions on the behavior of birds, but not the effect on song traits. We investigate, if song trait variability changes along a continuous urbanity gradient in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. We examined, for the first time on a larger scale, the influence of weather on song parameters. We made song recordings of three common passerine species: the blue and great tit (Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Parus major Linnaeus, 1758) and the European blackbird (Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758). We measured different song traits and performed statistical analyses and modeling on a variety of variables—among them urbanity and weather parameters. Remarkably, we found only few cases of a significant influence of urbanity parameters on song traits. The influence of weather parameters (air pressure, atmospheric humidity, air and soil temperatures) on song traits was highly significant. Birds in Frankfurt face high noise pollution and might show different adaptations to high noise levels. The song trait variability of the investigated species is affected more by weather conditions than by urban characteristics in Frankfurt. However, the three species react differently to specific weather parameters. Smaller species seem to be more affected by weather than larger species.
This paper intends to present some considerations on a possible epistemology of noise as a response to theory of recognition and its bases on theory of communicative action. The principal movement will be to recover some aspects of Marcuse’s and Foucault’s perspective on the disturbances narratives in social sphere. The interest for them becomes stronger from Habermas’ perspective on their “performative contradicions”. Both of them would appeal to social aspects that escapes from critical normativities. Foucault’s structures of power as well as Marcuse’s psychoanalytical drives would represent aspects of the same Habermasian problem: the absence of auto-critical rationality. However, we can question: what would offer to the two authors the limits of communicative action?