With certain types of central auditory dysfunction in the study, patients experienced difficulty hearing when other auditory stressors are present. For instance, the results of the tests showed they had difficulty hearing a conversation in a crowded room. This would translate into someone at a cocktail party unable to hear when a number of other conversations were taking place nearby.

On all of the auditory tests, scores worsened as memory ability went from unimpaired to mildly impaired to dementia. This finding held true even after adjusting for age and peripheral hearing status.

The conclusions of the article recommends that that central auditory testing be considered in the evaluation of older persons with hearing loss complaints.