THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN HEARING IMPAIRMENT AND HANDICAP IN THE ELDERLY - BALANCING TRANSACTION AND INTERACTION IN CONVERSATION

Many seniors adapt their conversation to compensate for hearing loss. They may talk more to reduce listening demand, or pretend to understan d rather than repairing conversation to recover unheard or misheard in formation. Such adaptations may differentially affect the transactiona l and interactional functions of discourse. Clinicians and researchers must appreciate the 'normal' bounds of these adaptations. The relatio nship between auditory and conversational function was explored in a c ase study of one 80-year old woman with moderate hearing impairment wh o had little communication handicap in everyday life but often pretend ed to understand. She conversed with an audiologist in favorable and u nfavorable listening conditions. Comprehension was measured using free and recognition recall, and conversational behaviors were analyzed. R ecall was influenced more by the cognitive and emotional-social engage ment of the senior than by auditory status. The findings illustrate ho w the interactional function of conversation was maintained and how it supported the informational function.