Publication Date

1987

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Ouellette, Sue E.

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Communicative Disorders

LCSH

Cognition in old age; Age and intelligence; Older people--Institutional care; Older deaf people

Abstract

The effects of hearing loss on outcomes of two brief tests of mental status, the Mental Status Questionnaire and the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, were studied in an institutionalized elderly population. The findings indicate that there is indeed a relationship between auditory acuity and mental status. Elderly persons with decrements in auditory acuity score significantly lower than those with better auditory abilities on these brief measures of mental status. The study raises the issue of whether this association is the result of a lack of information base due to the auditory restriction and therefore representative of a confounding factor in the measurement procedure. The results do not support this informational postulation, and the plausibility of alternative hypotheses is explored. Results are suggestive of factors which may indicate a concomitant cognitive and auditory degeneration process. Further investigation into this question is warranted.

Comments

Bibliography: pages [70]-77

Extent

viii, 77 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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