Is hearing loss linked to differences in sentence reading comprehension?

Details

Hearing loss has been associated with cognitive challenges, but its relationship with reading comprehension has been less explored. The researchers asked whether hearing loss is linked to a shift in the cognitive mechanisms supporting sentence comprehension, with greater reliance on working memory capacity (WMC) to compensate for less efficient access to semantic long-term memory (sLTM), and whether it is associated with poorer comprehension performance. Compared with adults with normal hearing, they investigated whether adults with hearing loss had less efficient sLTM access, poorer WMC, greater reliance on WMC for comprehension, and lower overall comprehension performance.

A total of 432 adults—215 with mild-to-severe hearing loss and 217 with normal hearing—completed tasks assessing sentence reading comprehension, sLTM access, and WMC. Fluid intelligence and education were included as control variables. The researchers used multigroup structural equation modeling to compare latent constructs between the groups and examine their relationships.

The hearing-loss group scored lower on sentence reading comprehension and showed less efficient sLTM access. WMC did not differ significantly between the groups, but its association with comprehension was stronger in the hearing-loss group. In both groups, sLTM access was important for comprehension performance.

The researchers suggest that sentence comprehension difficulties in people with hearing loss may stem from less efficient sLTM access and greater reliance on WMC, reflecting a shift in the balance between automatic retrieval processes and compensatory cognitive strategies. Interventions to improve lexical retrieval may therefore support reading comprehension. The authors note that reading is increasingly used as an alternative to auditory communication in this population, and suggest that supporting reading skills may improve quality of life and independence among older adults.