Binaural performance and aging.

Binaural performance is a general term that can be applied to a wide range of paradigms that involve listening with both ears. This review samples from across the spectrum of binaural tasks by highlighting recent studies that encapsulate certain aspects of binaural function. Studies of the precedence effect and binaural unmasking suggest that temporal coding in elderly listeners is degraded relative to young listeners and that this decline is not simply a function of reduced audiometric sensitivity. For higher tasks involving speech recognition in competing noise, the elderly show reduced binaural advantage, particularly when they also exhibit presbyacusic hearing loss. However, it should not be overlooked that the advantages of listening with two ears rather than one remain significant even in the presbyacusic listener.