Speech evoked auditory brainstem response and gap detection threshold in middle-aged individual

This study aimed at characterizing the gap detection threshold (GDT) and speech evoked ABR (SABR) in younger and middle-aged individuals. Two groups of subjects were participated in the study which includes 15 young adults in the age range of 15–25 years and 15 middle-aged individuals in the age range of 40–60 years. SABR with stimulus/da/of 40 ms and GDT were investigated on both groups. For SABR, Mann–Whitney U test revealed that ageing has significantly adverse effect on the encoding of F1 and F2 at brainstem level. However, no significant effect of ageing (till middle age) on the encoding of F0 was observed in present study. Mann–Whitney U test also showed significant longer latency of wave V in middle-aged individuals compared to younger adults. Furthermore, GDT was significantly better in younger adults compared to middle-aged individuals according to Mann–Whitney U test. This study also revealed no significant correlation between GDT and F0, F1, F2 for younger as well as middle-aged individuals. The findings of this study showed poor encoding of certain aspects of speech at brainstem level in middle-aged individuals compared to younger adults. This study also revealed deterioration of auditory processes in middle-aged individuals.