Exploring age-related inhibitory deficits in auditory attention: Evidence from attention switching

In multi-talker environments, inhibitory deficits may increase interference from auditory distractors and impair selective listening. To investigate whether age-related inhibitory deficits contribute to reduced control of auditory attention, we tested 45 younger and 45 older adults in a cued selective listening task. In each trial, a visual cue guided attention toward one of three sound sources (A, B, or C). Unlike previous studies that included immediate (n-1) location repetitions, the present task required switching on every trial. Participants categorised the magnitude of a spoken digit presented at the cued location while ignoring a simultaneous distractor at a different location. To assess target-distractor segregation, we measured performance costs when distractors elicited incongruent responses compared to congruent responses (congruency effect). We manipulated the n-2 location sequence to test whether returning to a previously attended location results in a cost (inhibition) or a benefit (facilitation). Results showed no age-related differences in the congruency effect, suggesting comparable target-distractor segregation across age groups. When participants switched attention to a previously attended location (ABA) relative to a new one (CBA), an n-2 location repetition benefit was observed, suggesting similar facilitation across groups. Older adults, in addition to general slowing, showed an n-2 location repetition benefit in error rates. Overall, these findings provide no evidence for an age-related inhibitory deficit during selective listening, even when accounting for age-related hearing loss. Instead, they suggest that auditory attention remains largely preserved in healthy aging, with older adults effectively resisting distractor interference and flexibly orienting attention across different sound sources.