PURPOSE: To evaluate the performance of elderly individuals in a non-verbal task related to executive functions, in order to verify the hypothesis that elderly hearing aid users would obtain higher scores in the proposed task than elderly non-hearing aid users. METHODS: The Simon task, administered individually on a laptop computer using the e-prime software, was used to measure aspects related to executive functions through a control condition and two test conditions. In the control condition, the stimuli - colored squares - were presented in the center of the screen. Test conditions were subdivided into congruent lateral condition - stimuli presented on the same side of the screen as the laptop key to be selected as the correct response - and lateral incongruent condition - in which the stimuli appear on the opposite side of the screen relative to the response key. The difference in reaction time between congruent and incongruent conditions is called Simon effect. The elderly were divided into three groups: a control group of normal hearing individuals; individuals with presbycusis who use hearing aids; and individuals with presbycusis who do not use hearing aids. RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed difference between the control group and the group of non-hearing aid users only with regards to the reaction time (RT) in the control condition. In the other comparisons, no differences were found. CONCLUSION: The hypothesis was not corroborated, which indicates the need to use new exploratory methods for observing the studied phenomena.
Aging; Presbycusis; Executive function; Attention; Cochlear implants
