Extended high-frequency hearing and cognitive-motor coordination during speech-in-noise walking

Human speech perception in everyday environments requires continuous coordination between auditory processing, predictive cognition, and motor control. Although extended high-frequency (EHF) hearing sensitivity has been associated with rapid speech-in-noise perception, little is known about whether subtle EHF variability relates to cognitive-motor performance during concurrent locomotion and listening....

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✦ The floor

Discussion

Signed responses from readers of the wire.

✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦

Findings are too preliminary to change clinical practice; extended high-frequency testing is not yet a standard clinical protocol, and the dual-task (walking + speech-in-noise) paradigm needs replication before influencing assessment routines.

✦ Why It Matters ✦

If extended high-frequency hearing genuinely links to cognitive-motor coordination, it could reshape audiological assessment by adding dual-task or mobility components to routine hearing evaluations.

✦ Key Points ✦

01Examined the relationship between extended high-frequency (EHF) hearing and dual-task performance (speech-in-noise + walking).
02Incorporates predictive cognition and motor control as variables alongside auditory processing.
03Published in Hearing Research, a peer-reviewed basic and applied audiology journal.
04Findings may have implications for fall-risk screening in patients with high-frequency hearing loss.
05Adds to a growing body of evidence linking hearing ability to non-auditory cognitive and physical functions.

✦ Claims & Evidence ✦

ClaimEvidenceSupport

Extended high-frequency hearing is associated with cognitive-motor coordination during speech-in-noise perception while walking.

studyunclear

✦ Research metadata ✦

PMID: 42967375
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2026.109843.
Journal: Hearing Research
Publication type: research_article
Evidence level: 2b
Population: Adults with varying degrees of extended high-frequency hearing
Intervention: Extended high-frequency hearing assessment during speech-in-noise dual-task walking paradigm

Primary outcomes

Speech-in-noise perception accuracy while walking; Cognitive-motor coordination measures; Association between EHF thresholds and dual-task performance

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