Blue Mountains Eye Study

This study will look to identify whether age is a factor in the degree of distraction while driving for hearing impaired individuals. Previous research has looked into several influences on driving such as extent of hearing impairment (Hickson et al. 2010), dual sensory impairments in correlation with motor vehicle accidents (Green, McGwin, & Owsley, 2013), as well as the detection of warning sounds in vehicles (Slawinski & MacNeil, 2002). It is hypothesized that individuals that are older in age will be more susceptible to increased levels of distraction while driving due to findings from previous research. Provided by the general population of Georgia, the study will consist of 180 participants separated into three age groups in order to

Through a retrospective cohort study, they found that older drivers with both visual and auditory sensory impairments are at greater motor vehicle collision risk than those with visual acuity or hearing deficit alone (Green, McGwin, & Owsley, 2013). In response to their findings, they concluded that a combined screening approach for screening hearing and visual impairment may be a useful tool to identify older drivers at risk of motor vehicle collision involvement. These findings are inconsistent with the results from the Blue Mountains Eye Study (Ivers, et al., 1999). The study by Green, McGwin, & Owsley (2013) was able to isolate hearing impairment as a factor and the Blue Mountains Eye Study (Ivers, et al., 1999) was not, but only the latter study took age into account. Therefore when age became a factor, hearing impairment was no longer able to be isolated as the only cause of motor vehicle

Tun, McCoy, & Wingfield (2009) found that extra effort at the sensory-perceptual level in relation to hearing loss has negative consequences to subsequent recollection, an effect that may be further instigated as an individual ages. The study measured the degree to which age and hearing loss may press on processing resources. They found evidence that suggested the added effort required for advantageous perceptions by older individuals are substantially stressed age-related memory deficits, even in the presences of sensory impairments (Tun, McCoy, & Wingfield, 2009). Additionally, Medeiros-Ward, Cooper, & Strayer (2014) reported on the concept of hierarchical control and the role it can play in distracted driving. Their findings indicated that when drivers are simultaneously involved in a secondary cognitive task in a windy driving condition, attention was drawn away from driving and there was a decline in the ability to maintain lane position (Medeiros-Ward, Cooper, & Strayer, 2014). In looking at factors that impair attention while behind the wheel, one study worked to understand how attentional costs could have a greater impact on the surrounding environment. This was tested by assessing the detection of external warning sounds in vehicles (Slawinski & MacNeil, 2002). They investigated the effects of age on the external vehicular warning sounds in the presence of