PrepTest 154

Incorrect. This would actually weaken. If hearing loss has been around since ancient times, when the world didn't have, say, traffic noise in it, then we don't have a clear connection between chronic noise exposure and hearing loss (on the other hand, Fred Flintstone had a pretty noisey life).

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
Think you're losing your hearing because you're getting older? Nah, it's your own fault for not wearing ear protection over time, says this audiologist. When you study elderly people who live in quiet, remote areas, they have little to no age-related loss of hearing.

Answer Anticipation:
This, like many strengthen questions, is a cause-and-effect argument. In this case the stimulus argues that one cause (age) does not produce an effect (hearing loss), and proposes an alternate cause for that effect (chronic noise exposure). So, we'd ideally like to strengthen the link between chronic noise exposure and hearing loss. Right now, it's a stronger argument for "age does not inevitably cause hearing loss" than for "chronic noise exposure does inevitably cause hearing loss." So, expect an answer choice that actually gets into the noise/hearing loss connection directly.

Answer Explanation:
This works perfectly to shore up the argument by ruling out several alternate causes in one go, while also adding more direct evidence for the "chronic noise exposure causes hearing loss" argument. If you can produce hearing loss in someone from a remote area by moving them to an urban area for just a few years, you rule out objections like "well, maybe remote populations carry rare genes that protect against age-related hearing loss."

Key Takeaway:
Cause and effect is a big deal on the LSAT. Give it the intentional study time it deserves. Just identifying a Strengthen, Weaken, or Errors in Reasoning question as a causal argument and understanding the cause-and-effect relationships within the stimulus is often enough to get you halfway to the correct answer. If you're entering the answer choices on these question types without first asking yourself "is this argument causal?" you're doing it wrong.

Incorrect. This could be true or false and the argument in the stimulus would still be equally strong. Nobody argued that the cause of hearing loss is awareness of noise, or lack of awareness of it. It's the noise itself damaging people's hearing.

Incorrect. Probably true, but irrelevant to whether or not chronic noise exposure and/or aging inevitably cause hearing loss. Doesn't strengthen or weaken.

Incorrect. This isn't relevant unless we have some way to compare those who do wear ear protection to those who don't. If they failed to wear protection, but their hearing was fine in old age, this could actually weaken the argument.