Some memory problems in older people may have roots not in the brain but in the ear. People with mild hearing loss spend so much energy trying to understand words that they actually don't remember them, according to a new study. Yet this situation can be improved if family members and caregivers adjust their speech styles.

"This can seem like some age-related memory problem like mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's, but it's really a sensory problem," says Arthur Wingfield, a cognitive neuroscientist at Brandeis University. In the new issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, Wingfield and his colleagues report that they tested 24 healthy adults, ages 66 to 81. None of them had cognitive problems, but half of the group did have mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Each person was read a list of 15 words and asked to remember the final three. People with normal hearing had no problem. The people with hearing loss could recall the very last word but not the two immediately before it.

"It's an issue of 'mental energy' and how you use it," Wingfield explains. With age, people lose the ability to hear some higher pitches and to discern sounds in rapid sequence, so they have to focus a lot of their brainpower on simply understanding the word. They are trying really hard. As a result, they don't focus on retaining the words in their memories. "If you are performing at capacity, and try and do two things at once, you'll perform below standard on the second task."

Since 1 in 3 people over age 60 has some hearing loss, this is a widespread problem. It means that older people may have trouble remembering instructions given by doctors or caregivers and important things said by family members.

Hearing aids—shunned by two thirds of these people—are only a partial solution. They help clarify higher pitches, but don't help distinguish rapid sounds. What does help, Wingfield says, is if doctors and family members speak more slowly.

"But I don't mean dragging out words. That just makes things worse," he says. "What you need to do is pause between 'thought units' in sentences, such as clauses. This gives people extra time to process the meaning." Studies have shown that inserting a pause of only a second or two between clauses or sentences dramatically improves memory performance.

To learn if you have a hearing problem that may underlie memory troubles, the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders suggests people take this simple quiz. If you answer "yes" to three or more questions, you may need to have your hearing checked by a doctor.

• Do I have a problem hearing on the telephone?
• Do I have trouble hearing when there is noise in the background?
• Is it hard for me to follow a conversation when two or more people talk at once?
• Do I have to strain to understand a conversation?
• Do many people I talk to seem to mumble (or not speak clearly)?
• Do I misunderstand what others are saying and respond inappropriately?
• Do I often ask people to repeat themselves?
• Do I have trouble understanding the speech of women and children?
• Do people complain that I turn the TV volume up too high?
• Do I hear a ringing, roaring, or hissing sound a lot?
• Do some sounds seem too loud?