It’s hard for anybody to hear anything over relatively loud ambient noise. For older adults, trying to have a conversation even with a person only a few feet away becomes even more difficult due to hearing loss brought about by age. But our sense of hearing isn’t the only thing that weakens as we grow older. The brain also slows down, so the process of translating sound into something that is understandable takes longer.

A new study featured on TIME aims to address this difficulty by proving that the brain, no matter what age, can be trained to pick out speech over noise similar to how musicians can isolate notes over powerful sounds in a concert.

Researchers led by Nina Kraus of Northwestern University worked with 67 older adults from ages 55 to 70. One group was asked to use “Brain Fitness,” a program said to help in maintaining the sharpness of one’s auditory system using computerized hearing tasks. Another was given educational DVDs to watch. This was continued for 40 hours spread over a span of eight weeks.

Results showed that those who used “Brain Fitness” were able to pick out more words from a noisy background as compared to those who only watched the educational DVD. The training didn’t only improve the participants’ hearing, but also their mental processes--the brain was quicker to translate sound into words.

Keeping the brain active using mental exercises is still important in order to retain its sharpness. Playing games such as sudoku, chess, and even online role-playing games may help adults keep their minds fit and agile.

(Photo by Bewal via Flickr Creative Commons)