Fig. 4.

Age-related hearing loss is associated with more extended pathways of neural communication, particularly in the left hemi-sphere. Average eccentricity within specific nodes of the auditory-linguistic-motor loop in left (LH) and right (RH) hemispheres. a, b Clear speech. c, d Noise-degraded speech. While HI listeners show increased network eccentricity, group differences are largest in LH. A1, primary auditory cortex; M1, primary motor cortex; B1-B2, Broca’s area (pars opercularis and pars triangularis). Error bars = ± s.e.m