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Poorer Sentence Reading Comprehension With Increased Reliance on Working Memory in Adults With Hearing Loss.

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Title: Poorer Sentence Reading Comprehension With Increased Reliance on Working Memory in Adults With Hearing Loss.
Authors: Ning, Ruijing1 ruijing.ning@riken.jp, Marsja, Erik1, Holmer, Emil1
Source: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Feb2026, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p807-824. 18p.
Subject Terms: *Reading, *Intellect, *Academic medical centers, *Short-term memory, *Hearing disorders, *People with disabilities, *Cognition, *Phonology, Cross-sectional method, Task performance, Secondary analysis, Research funding, Structural equation modeling, Descriptive statistics, Neuropsychological tests, Semantics, Reaction time
Abstract: Purpose: Hearing loss (HL) has been associated with cognitive challenges, but its relationship with reading comprehension remains less explored. This study examined sentence reading comprehension in individuals with HL, focusing on two key questions: (a) Does HL lead to a shift in the cognitive mechanisms supporting sentence reading comprehension--specifically, increased reliance on working memory capacity (WMC) to compensate for reduced efficiency in accessing semantic long-term memory (sLTM)? (b) Is HL associated with reduced performance on sentence reading comprehension tasks? We investigated whether individuals with HL demonstrate lower sLTM access efficiency, poorer WMC, greater reliance on WMC for comprehension, and overall reduced comprehension performance compared to those with normal hearing (NH). Method: A total of 432 adults (215 with mild-to-severe HL, 217 NH) completed tasks assessing sentence reading comprehension, sLTM access, and WMC. Fluid intelligence and education were included as control variables. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to compare latent constructs between groups and examine their relationships. Results: The HL group demonstrated lower sentence reading comprehension scores and less efficient sLTM access. No significant group difference was observed in WMC, but WMC had a stronger association with comprehension in the HL group than in the NH group. In both groups, sLTM access was important for comprehension performance. Conclusions: These findings suggest that sentence reading comprehension difficulties in individuals with HL may stem from reduced sLTM access efficiency and increased reliance on WMC, reflecting a shift in the balance between automatic retrieval processes and compensatory cognitive strategies. Interventions aimed at improving lexical retrieval may therefore support reading comprehension. Given the increasing reliance on reading as an alternative to auditory communication among this population, supporting reading skills may contribute to improved quality of life and independence among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Poorer Sentence Reading Comprehension With Increased Reliance on Working Memory in Adults With Hearing Loss.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ning%2C+Ruijing%22">Ning, Ruijing</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> ruijing.ning@riken.jp</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marsja%2C+Erik%22">Marsja, Erik</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Holmer%2C+Emil%22">Holmer, Emil</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language+%26+Hearing+Research%22">Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p807-824. 18p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading%22">Reading</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intellect%22">Intellect</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+medical+centers%22">Academic medical centers</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Short-term+memory%22">Short-term memory</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hearing+disorders%22">Hearing disorders</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22People+with+disabilities%22">People with disabilities</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognition%22">Cognition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cross-sectional+method%22">Cross-sectional method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Task+performance%22">Task performance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+analysis%22">Secondary analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Structural+equation+modeling%22">Structural equation modeling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Neuropsychological+tests%22">Neuropsychological tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Semantics%22">Semantics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reaction+time%22">Reaction time</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Purpose: Hearing loss (HL) has been associated with cognitive challenges, but its relationship with reading comprehension remains less explored. This study examined sentence reading comprehension in individuals with HL, focusing on two key questions: (a) Does HL lead to a shift in the cognitive mechanisms supporting sentence reading comprehension--specifically, increased reliance on working memory capacity (WMC) to compensate for reduced efficiency in accessing semantic long-term memory (sLTM)? (b) Is HL associated with reduced performance on sentence reading comprehension tasks? We investigated whether individuals with HL demonstrate lower sLTM access efficiency, poorer WMC, greater reliance on WMC for comprehension, and overall reduced comprehension performance compared to those with normal hearing (NH). Method: A total of 432 adults (215 with mild-to-severe HL, 217 NH) completed tasks assessing sentence reading comprehension, sLTM access, and WMC. Fluid intelligence and education were included as control variables. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to compare latent constructs between groups and examine their relationships. Results: The HL group demonstrated lower sentence reading comprehension scores and less efficient sLTM access. No significant group difference was observed in WMC, but WMC had a stronger association with comprehension in the HL group than in the NH group. In both groups, sLTM access was important for comprehension performance. Conclusions: These findings suggest that sentence reading comprehension difficulties in individuals with HL may stem from reduced sLTM access efficiency and increased reliance on WMC, reflecting a shift in the balance between automatic retrieval processes and compensatory cognitive strategies. Interventions aimed at improving lexical retrieval may therefore support reading comprehension. Given the increasing reliance on reading as an alternative to auditory communication among this population, supporting reading skills may contribute to improved quality of life and independence among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=191547616
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        Value: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00187
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 18
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    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Reading
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Intellect
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic medical centers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Short-term memory
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      – SubjectFull: Hearing disorders
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      – SubjectFull: People with disabilities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cognition
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      – SubjectFull: Cross-sectional method
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      – SubjectFull: Structural equation modeling
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      – SubjectFull: Neuropsychological tests
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      – SubjectFull: Semantics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reaction time
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    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Poorer Sentence Reading Comprehension With Increased Reliance on Working Memory in Adults With Hearing Loss.
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              Text: Feb2026
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              Y: 2026
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