Image of male nurse pushing senior woman in a wheelchair in nursing facility

Lifelong musical training, especially if it lasts late in life, can help overcome age-related hearing loss, a new study finds.

Northwestern University researchers measured how the brains of young musicians, older musicians and non-musicians responded to auditory stimuli. Older musicians had a distinct neural advantage.

Experts suggest that intense musical training could improve speech processing in older adults and, as a result, improve the ability to communicate in noisy environments. The study was published in Neurobiology of Aging.