What is affected by a temporal lobe injury?

A temporal lobe injury primarily impacts a person's ability to process auditory information and language, which is why difficulty understanding spoken words is a prominent symptom. The temporal lobe plays a crucial role in the comprehension of language and auditory processing, as it houses the primary auditory cortex and areas critical for language comprehension, such as Wernicke's area. When these areas are damaged, individuals may struggle to follow conversations, understand verbal instructions, or make sense of spoken language, which significantly affects communication abilities.

The other options, while they can be symptoms of various conditions, are not directly related to damage in the temporal lobe. Difficulty swallowing is usually associated with issues in areas of the brain that control motor functions and the swallowing reflex, such as the brainstem. Dizziness could stem from vestibular issues or other neurological conditions not limited to the temporal lobe. Difficulty reading and writing involves different cognitive processes linked to language production and visual processing, which are more associated with the parietal and occipital lobes, as well as Broca's area in the frontal lobe. Therefore, the correct answer directly reflects the specific functions impacted by an injury to the temporal lobe.