Effects of executive function training on balance and auditory-cognitive dual-task performance in adults with and without hearing loss
DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.15.25333755
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Summary
This randomized controlled trial investigates whether executive function (EF) training can improve balance and auditory-cognitive dual-task performance in adults, specifically examining how age and hearing status moderate these effects. The study is motivated by the established links between hearing loss, cognitive decline, and increased fall risk, as well as the hypothesis that effortful listening consumes cognitive resources needed for mobility. The researchers aimed to determine if enhancing EF—specifically inhibition, task switching, divided attention, and working memory—could mitigate these dual-task costs and improve postural stability, particularly in older adults with hearing loss. The study included 65 participants divided into three groups: middle-aged adults with normal hearing (MA, n=19), older adults with normal hearing (OA, n=23), and older adults with hearing loss using hearing aids (OAHL, n=23). Participants were randomized within each group to either a 12-week EF training program or a control condition. Primary outcomes were measured using a dual-task paradigm in a realistic virtual reality environment, assessing auditory-cognitive reaction time on an auditory 2-back working memory task and postural stability via center of pressure path length variability. Secondary analyses utilized baseline standardized assessments of sensory, cognitive, and mobility functions to predict training outcomes. Results indicated that cognitive performance generally improved following EF training across all groups, with transfer effects observed in both postural and auditory-cognitive tasks. However, the benefits for balance were contingent on hearing status: postural performance improved only in older adults with better hearing, while those with poorer hearing thresholds showed no improvement regardless of age. Conversely, for auditory-cognitive task performance, older adults with the poorest hearing and baseline cognition benefited the most from the training. These findings suggest that while EF training enhances cognitive processing, its ability to support balance is limited by severe hearing loss. The study concludes that EF training may support cognition and balance in older adults, but its efficacy for mobility is constrained by the severity of hearing impairment. This underscores the importance of early intervention and suggests that cognitive training alone may not suffice for balance improvement in individuals with significant hearing loss, highlighting the need for multimodal approaches that address both sensory and cognitive deficits.
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-10 |
| archive | success | unpaywall | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-25 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-25 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-11 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-11 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-11 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-10 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-25 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-25; verification: verified.
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